Him, Me, and the Endless Sky
by crystallica81
Summary: "It was beautiful," I said, my voice threatening to spill out my miles and miles of emotion. "It was just him, me, and the endless sky. And I wanted it to stay that way forever." Regular Treasure Planet plotline with an OC. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Newcomers

**Hi everyone! So school started up again, and I was SO darn busy that I had NO time for fanfiction AT ALL. **

**It was all schoolwork and grades and doing my job etc. while maintaining a cheerful attitude and a smile on my face, BLECH. **

**Anyways. **

**"Lights" will be updated ASAP, I promise! And I will try to finish other stories on hiatus while I can. This story I've been working on since the summer, and me and a friend saw the movie Treasure Planet at a party two days ago, and since then I've been wanting to post this story up.  
>It's a rough draft and so is Kenya, my OC, but I hope you guys enjoy this. <strong>

**Please follow, favorite, and review, give me lots of feedback. **

**Give me a review, and I will return the favor for one of your stories :) **

**Just Treasure Planet regular plotline, with a girl thrown in ;) **

**How you gonna deal with this, Jim?  
><strong>**Enjoy!**

**xx, Crystal**

**PS 2+ reviews and I post the next chapter.**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter One: Newcomers <strong>

**Kenya**

There are two kinds of people in this world.

There are good and there are bad.

Unfortunately, the world doesn't work as easy as that.

You don't just get to look at someone and decide whether they're good or bad. You have to realize that sometimes, even after you think you know someone, you don't.

There are another type of people in this world: the Misunderstood.

I was one of those girls.

A tramp, an orphan, a vagrant. People thought I was all bad. Well, I wasn't all bad. Maybe some, but not all. Everyone has a little good in them.

This story isn't _all_ about me, though.

It's also about a boy, who was a lot like me.

It's also about finding love, finding hope, and finding adventure.

But mostly, it's about finding yourself.

* * *

><p>The curtains were pulled back, and light streamed into the tiny bathroom.<p>

In the light of the twelve suns of the Montressor Galaxy, I finally got a good look at my haggard, drawn face, lined with grime from a night of work as the cabin girl on a big voyager ship.

I dipped my hands into water that streamed out of a faucet in the sink, and ran water along the edges of my face, along my jawline, on my forehead, where water dampened a few sweaty straggles of hair.

Wiping my face on a fluffy towel hanging by a wooden hook, I raised my face to look at my reflection.

Reflections can be decieving.

I looked halfway-decent in the mirror, but I was a nervous wreck inside.

We were starting a voyage today, which meant twice my regular load of work.

I swept my long brown hair off my back into a messy bun, and straightened out my white off-the shoulders top and rolled up the baggy too-big sleeves. I hiked up my blue shorts, adjusted my everyday worn black flats, and pushed open the door to my bedroom, walking across the front deck, where sailors were preparing for the voyage, and down into the galley.

A tantalizing aroma awaited me, and I smiled when the man mixing something in a pot looked up.

"Morning, Silver! Bonzabeast stew?" I breathed. "Yum. I haven't had that in so long!"

"Yer right!" The man cooking grinned at me. "Want some?"

"Please!" I walked forward quickly, grabbing a bowl and a spoon. "Anything I can do for you after I eat?"

Silver shrugged. "Well, you just get down the grub, and then ya can do me a favor and peel some kalua fruit."

I nodded as Silver filled my bowl with hot, thick Bonzabeast stew. I inhaled the smell.

"Mmm," I whispered, and had a spoonful.

Soon Silver sat down with me, with an equal sized bowl of stew, and the two of us talked, as we did every morning.

"Pleasant night?" Silver asked me.

I shrugged and rubbed my neck. "I didn't sleep too good, actually."

Silver frowned. "Why not, lass?"

"I had some freaky dreams." I tried to laugh it off, but Silver still frowned. "Hmm," he said.

"I'm okay," I assured him. "I can't wait for us to start the voyage. So, where are we going?"

Silver grinned. "Can't say. But you'll know soon enough, I'll reckon."

I nodded and scraped my bowl with the spoon. "This is sooo good. Loooove it. Promise you'll make it again."

Silver chuckled. "Yeah, I promise, lass." As I got up to wash the dishes, Silver grabbed my shoulder. "Now tonight ya just drink some hot milk with some mellowdew in it. It'll make you go righ' to sleep like a drunk sailor."

I nodded. "Okay. Sure."

As I sat down to peel the kalua fruit, I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"That woman! That _feline_! Who does she think is working for _whom_?"

"It's my map and she's got me busing tables—"

I blinked, glancing at the stairs. Two men, it sounded like. But who were they? I looked at Silver, who was whistling and paying no heed.

"I'll not tolerate a cross word about our Captain!" growled another voice, this time a familiar one. "There's no finer officer in this _or any_ galaxy."

That was Mr. Arrow, I realized. The Captain's first mate and best friend. I leaned back against the wooden walls.

Then the visitors came into view, and I looked at the two of them, amused. Wow, they made quite a pair.

One of them was dressed in the weirdest space-suit getup I had ever seen, and he was clunking around, rattling the whole outfit. A plug dangled behind him, which made me guess it wasn't even plugged in properly. He didn't look too aggressive, simply the nerdy type, and he looked obviously lost.

The second one was just a boy, about my own age, maybe a year older. He had brown hair and dark blue eyes, tan skin, and was well built. He looked quite...depressed. There was a frown on his face as if it was him against the world. He wore a brown jacket and dark pants, and shuffled forward reluctantly.

"Mr. Silver," greeted Mr. Arrow, crossing his arms and nudging the strange people forward again.

Interested, I swung my legs down from the countertop, continuing to peel but wanting to see what was going on.

Silver dried off his hands on his apron and turned around dramatically, a teasing expression on his face.

"Why, Mr. Arrow, sir! Bringin' such fine and distinguished guests to grace my humble galley. Had I known, I'd 'ave tucked in me shirt!" It was an obvious joke, but neither of the pair smiled.

I raised my eyebrows. _What planet were they _from?

The boy's eyes widened, and I wondered why. _Maybe it was all the metal on Silver's body. He was half man, half machine, and that was probably a bit scary to them if they had never seen a cyborg before. _

"May I introduce Dr. Doppler," Mr. Arrow continued. "The financier of our voyage."

The doctor stepped forward timidly. He made a clunking noise.

"Love the outfit, Doc," Silver said cheerily, and let the glare from his robotic eye travel down the doctor's body. The doctor quickly covered between his legs, stammering out a reply: "Well, um, thank you...Love the eye!"

The Doc awkwardly laughed and then pulled the boy forward. "Uh, this young lad is Jim Hawkins!"

The boy looked a bit startled as he was shoved forward towards Silver, and then Silver stretched out his metal hand with all his little metal knives and such on it with a merry grin. "Jimbo!"

Seeing Jim's freaked face, Silver quickly switched the contraptions for regular metal fingers.

Jim continued to glare.

_What the hell's his problem_? A bit of defensiveness kicked in to me, in protection of Silver and his unusual metal limbs, but I sighed it away and flicked more orangey skin off the kalua fruit instead.

As usual, Silver took it lightly. "Ah, don't be put off by this hunk o' hardware," he told Jim, grabbing a bunch of random ingredients for another batch of Bonzabeast stew from the countertop; slicing, dicing and peeling at rapid time with his metal hand. "These gears 'ave been tough gettin' used to, but they do come in mighty handy from time to time." Silver dumped the mixed ingredients into a pot, added a few spices, stirred, and tasted. "Mmmm!" he said, glancing at me, grinning, and then pouring two bowlfuls for the Doc and Jim.

" 'Ere now," he said proudly. " 'Ave a taste of my famous Bonzabeast stew."

The Doc accepted the bowl and sampled it. "Mmm...delightfully tangy, yet robust!"

"Ole' family recipe," Silver informed him.

I rolled my eyes as a blue eyeball floated to the top of the stew. The Doc let out a very un-manly sort of shriek.

I hid a laugh.

"In fact, dat was part o' the ole' family!" Silver burst out laughing as he ate the eyeball, to the Doc's intense disgust.

It wasn't a first-time joke, Silver repeated it a hell of a lot, laughing harder each new time he did it.

Silver wiped a tear from his eye. "Jest kiddin', Doc. I'm nothin' if I ain't a kidder." He nudged the kid. "Go on, Jimbo, 'ave a swig."

The kid looked down distrustfully at the bowl. Suddenly, the spoon turned into a little pink blob.

Jim gasped and let go of the spoon. The pink blob dove into the bowl and finished off the rest of the stew, chirping happily.

I giggled. _Morph_.

"Ah, Morph, ya jiggle-headed blob o' mischief!" Silver joked. "So that's where ye was hidin'!"

Morph jumped out of the now-empty bowl and nuzzled against Jim's face, and I first saw him smile. "Wha—" He chuckled as Morph tickled him. "What is that thing?"

"He's a morph," Silver explained. "I rescued the little shape-shifter on Proteus I. He took a side to me, and we been together ever since." Morph chirruped happily and nuzzled under Silver's chin, then flew over to me and flew in a circle around my face. "Kalua, kalua!" He chanted in a squeaky voice.

I used the knife to take off a tiny piece of fruit and fed it to Morph.

Morph gratefully ate it, and nuzzled my cheek.

"You feedin' him my fruit? How many times 'ave I told you not ta feed 'im the fruit? He'll never stop pesterin' ya now!" Silver shook his head, but he winked at me. "Ah, Doc!" He turned back to the Doc and Jim. "I fergot to introduce you two earlier, but this is Kenya Kessler."

I laid down the pan of kalua fruit, slid off the countertop and walked closer to the pair.

"Hi," I said with a nod of my head.

"Hello," Doc smiled at me.

"Hey," said Jim, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.

A bell sounded from above, indicating preparation for takeoff.

"We're about to get underway," Mr. Arrow started for the door. "Would you like to observe the launch, Doctor?"

The doctor beamed. "Would I? Does an active galactic nucleus have superluminal jets?!"

Everyone stared.

"...I'll follow you," The Doc told Mr. Arrow, following him sheepishly up the stairs.

Jim started after them, but Mr. Arrow stopped him with a hand. "Mr. Hawkins will stay here, in your charge, Mr. Silver."

Silver, who was sampling his own stew, choked and spluttered it everywhere.

"Wait," I said, raising my eyebrows challengingly to Mr. Arrow. "That's my job."

"What's your job?" He turned to me, the hard lines in his face looking even harder now, from the stress of managing a voyage.

"_Cabin girl_." I glared. "I'm not being replaced, am I?"

"Easy does it, Kenni," Silver called, stirring a smoking potful of something. "No one could replace you, lass."

"You and Mr. Hawkins can share the position," Mr. Arrow said sarcastically.

I glanced over at Jim, who was looking in some other direction.

I turned back to Mr. Arrow. "Well—"

He had already turned to talk to Silver.

I sighed and went back to the kalua, which Morph had eaten.

"Really, Morph?" I asked tiredly. "Really?"

Morph giggled.

"Thanks a lot." I sighed.

"Beggin' your pardon, sir, but—" Silver was saying.

"_Captain's orders_." Mr. Arrow cut him off. "See to it the new cabin boy is kept busy."

Silver and Jim glanced at each other and then back at Mr. Arrow.

"Yes, but—"

"Listen—"

"What—"

"No you can't—"

"I mean, the lad is—"

"You've got to—"

"He's _gone_," I said dryly, gesturing at the empty stairwell. "_Congratulations_."

Jim looked at me, then both Silver and Jim sighed, rubbing their eyes simultaneously.

_They're both more alike than they know_, I realized with a grin, stepping forward.

"Uh, Silver?" I said, reluctantly. "Morph ate your fruit."

"Heaven help me," he moaned.

"It'll be okay," I said with a tiny smile at his expression. "There's more in the cabinet over there. I'll be back, okay? I'm gonna go watch the launch."

Silver sighed and nodded, turning to face Jim.

I scrambled up the stairs to get a nice spot to view the launch on the deck.

Something told me this wasn't gonna be an ordinary journey.

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><p><strong>Please review, follow and favorite guys. <strong>

**2+ reviews and I post the next chap. **

**I might be thinking of a sequel to the Crystal Thief also. So stay tuned for that. **

**xx, Crystal **


	2. Brawling

**Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews so far! :) ****I'll try to update on a regular basis. I haven't gotten around to Lights yet, but I'm doing this in a tiny break in all the work I have. Plus I have to go to work a bit later, so I have to try and update really quickly. **

**Please keep reviewing!**

**Thanks to IzzyGirl and HeartOfGold7 for their kind words and great reviews. :) ily guyzz**

**Enjoy this chapter. **

**2+ reviews and I update. **

**xx, Crystal **

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Two: Brawling<strong>

**Jim**

"So." Silver headed back to his pot. "Cap'n put ya with me, eh?"

"Whatever," I said back. I really didn't care at this point.

Silver shrugged it off, grabbing a spoon. "Ehhh...who be a humble cyborg to argue wit' da Cap'n."

"Yeah," I said vaguely, backing against a barrel and realizing it was full of purps. I picked one up. "You know," I said slowly. "These purps are just like the ones back home. On Montressor."

I began to circle the galley casually, keeping my eyes on Silver. "You ever been there?"

Silver continued working, paying me no heed. "Ahhh, can't says I have, Jimbo."

I took a bite. "Come to think of it, just before I left, I met this old guy, and he was, uh, kinda looking for a cyborg buddy of his." I raised my eyebrows at Silver, remembering the crashed ship in front of my mom's inn and the pirate telling me the strange message: _Beware the cyborg._

Silver paused in his cutting of kalua fruit. I heard the pause, and that _meant something. _

Didn't it?

"Is that so?" Silver sounded quite disinterested.

I nodded, a glare in my eyes. "Yeah...what was that old salamander's name?" I paused for effect, staring at Silver's back, willing him to do something that would reveal the evil in him. "Oh, yeah. Bones. Billy Bones."

Silver poured something into a large pot. "Bones? Boooooones? Mm, mm. Tain't ringin' any bells. Must've been a different cyborg. There's a whole slew of cyborgs roamin' this port." He smiled at me, but I saw something in that smile that wasn't quite right.

I raised my eyebrows at Silver. _Did Billy Bones tell me the truth? Maybe Silver wasn't bad..._

I shook my head to clear it. I had to find out for real.

Hey! An idea sprang into my mind. _What if I asked that girl? What was her name?_

_Kenya._

I slid off the countertop, and Silver shoved me playfully from behind. "Ah, off wit' cha, lad. Watch the launch. There'll be plenty work a'waitin' ya afterwards."

I walked up the stairs, hands in my jacket pockets, but if I had stayed on the stairs to watch Silver, I'd have heard him say to Morph:

"We best keep an eye on this one."

"All hands to stations!" shouted Mr. Arrow above the wind, and sailors scurried around the deck.

I walked across the deck, observing everything, from how the crew worked together, to how the sails fluttered in the wind. I had never been on a ship, and it was fascinating.

As the ship slowly began to rise, I rushed to the side and looked down. It was breathtaking, actually, the view of white buildings down below beginning to get smaller and smaller.

"Cool, isn't it?" Came a voice from behind me. I turned to see the girl from the galley—Kenya—standing next to me.

"Yeah," I answered, staring down at the amazing view. I looked at her. She seemed nice, and she was kinda pretty.

She had brown hair in this messy bun, tiny silver earrings, and her eyes were really nice. A penetrating, haunting blue. She pushed up her sleeves and rested her arms on the side of the deck.

"So," I said, in an attempt to start conversation.

"So," she said back, still looking out at the sky.

"What's your job on this ship?" I asked.

"Cabin girl, like I said downstairs."

"Oh." I looked back at the Wispwinged birds that flew by. "Didn't hear. My bad."

Kenya pushed a wisp of hair that escaped her bun back behind her ear. "But I guess you took my job."

"Oh." I blinked. "Uh, sorry?"

Kenya giggled. "It was a joke. I guess we can share." She raised her eyebrows at me, and I nodded, and then grinned, realizing it was a joke.

"Is this your first time on a ship?" Kenya yelled above the noises of the ship.

I nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

Kenya shrugged. "It was just a question."

"Yeah, first time. You?"

"No. Ships are like, where I live. I've been a cabin girl with Silver for the last six years."

I was bewildered. "How old are you?"

"Turned fifteen last month." She smiled. "How bout you?"

"Same, fifteen."

"Nice."

I smiled at Kenya. I liked her. She didn't pry, and I liked how she teased me, as if she'd known me for a long, long time.

I clamored up a bit into the shrouds or rigging or whatever it was these gigantic rope ladder things were called. I grabbed on and hung there as Kenya raised her eyes to me.

"So, how do you know Silv—" I began.

"Jim-_bo_!" Me and Kenya turned to see Silver glaring at Jim. "I gots two new friends I'd like ya to meet!" He tossed me two things. "Mr. Mop...and Mrs. Bucket."

Luckily, I caught them before the two items were lost to the Etherium.

I sighed. "Yippee."

"Good luck!" Kenya teased, and started for the stairs leading into the galley.

"Where ya going?" Silver frowned at Kenya. "Yer workin' wit' him." He shoved a mop at her too. "It's his first day and I want ya to help, lass."

Kenya rolled her eyes. "He's perfectly fine, Silver. He's not a child."

"_Mop_!" Silver said, gesturing to the mop. "It's an order, Kenya."

Kenya grabbed the mop in a huff and stomped back to me.

"Congratulations," I told her, in the same voice she had used back in the galley when Ihad gotten stuck as a cabin boy with Silver.

Kenya rolled her eyes, then started to mop.

After a few seconds, I followed.

* * *

><p>It grew later, and Kenya and I continued to mop the deck.<p>

"Yeah, I got your Mr. Mop," I muttered sarcastically as it got colder and I grew more miserable. I had been up here nearly an hour.

A large four-armed sailor stalked by, shoving me into the side of the ship.

I staggered back, the mop dragging and squeaking against the wooden floor, and I caught the side railing to regain some balance.

"Watch it, twerp," the monster snarled at me.

I looked at Kenya, bewildered. "What the hell's his—"

"Let it go," she advised.

I turned back to my mopping.

Hushed whispers pulled me out of my work as I noticed a group of sailors whispering animatedly by a water barrel. Intrigued, I raised an eyebrow and leaned against my mop, listening—until they noticed and turned to glare at me.

"What are you looking at, weirdo?" Snarled a sailor. Then the head crawled off the body and the stomach—which had eyes and a nose and a mouth—addressed me: "Yeah. _Weirdo_."

_Right, I'm the weirdo_, I thought, trying to look away and failing.

Kenya looked up and opened her mouth, but I heard a hissing noise and glanced up into the shrouds.

A giant red crab thing was crawling down the rigging towards me.

"Cabin boyssssss should learn to mind their own businesssssss," it whispered to me.

I couldn't resist poking some fun at this guy. "What, you got something to hide, bright-eyes?" I asked. Sneaking a quick look at Kenya, I saw that she raised her eyebrows, almost impressed, and then suddenly, I felt the crab thing grab my shirt collar and pick me up slowly so my face was level with his. "Maybe your earssssss don't work ssssoooo well," he snarled.

My comeback: "Yeah, too bad my nose works just fine." I wrinkled my nose, looking away.

The crab thing's yellow eyes widened. "Why, you impudent little—" He slammed me against the mast. I kicked my legs and wriggled, but it was clear I wasn't going to get away.

"Scroop, would you stop it?" Kenya started forward.

"I'll tear thissssss inssssolent boy apart," Scroop hissed at Kenya. "You can't sssssstop me."

"Let him go," Kenya insisted. "Seriously. I'm not kidding."

Scroop—I figured that's his name—placed his claw to my throat. "Any lasssst wordssss, cabin boy?" he whispered menacingly.

The crew cheered.

I was genuinely getting afraid now, but I tried not to show it.

Suddenly, something smashed against the back of Scroop's head. It was the bucket of water, and Scroop was now dripping wet.

He didn't let go of me, but turned around angrily to see Kenya standing there, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, the picture of calm.

"What'ssssss wrong with you?" Scroop said angrily. "I'll be happy to give you a tassssste of what I'm giving thisssss one."

Kenya snickered.

_God, she wasn't freaked out by this living crab?!_

Scroop lunged forward at Kenya, letting me slide to the ground. He smacked her with his claw, causing her to fall to the ground.

The crew backed away slowly.

"Sssssstay out of my businesssss," Scroop snarled at her, but Kenya grabbed her mop and stabbed him with the handle.

It hit Scroop, and he yowled.

Without a wasted second, Kenya went back for another jab with the mop, but not before Silver yanked it out of her hands.

"Mr. Scroop," Silver addressed him, throwing the mop across the deck. "Ever seen what happens to a fresh purp...when you squeeze—real—_hard_?" Silver twisted Scroop's arm, causing him to wheeze in pain.

I scrambled out of the way, looking for Kenya. She was back at her feet, a slight mark on her cheek where Scroop had struck her, and she still looked angry, picking up her mop.

"Are you ok—" I began, walking towards her, and Kenya shoved me. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded. "Are you some kind of idiot? _Huh_?"

"_What_?" I stumbled backwards. "What are you—"

"Don't talk to them!" Kenya advanced towards me, a scowl on her face. "When they talk to you, it'll end up in a fight. So just let it go! What were you even _doing_? Trying to prove yourself?"

"Maybe I need to prove myself!" I shot backwards.

"Nice job," Kenya said sarcastically. "I had to save you."

I glared at her threateningly. "I wasn't afraid. And I don't need you to save me, Kenya."

"You'd have ended up with a sliced throat." Kenya leaned back casually. "I've seen him rip people apart. You don't even_ know_ this crew, Jim."

I opened my mouth, but then stopped. I _didn't_ know the crew.

"You know," Kenya said finally. "I guess this wasn't the 'Thank you, Kenya' I was expecting, but what the hell. I guess this is just _you_."

I was shocked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kenya didn't say a word, just glared.

"Well, _what_?" I shot back.

"Jimbo! Kenya!" Silver got in between us. He looked accusingly at me. "I gave you a job."

I was enraged. "Hey, I was _doing it_! Until that bug_ thing_—"

"Belay that!" Silver interjected angrily. He whirled to stare at Kenya. "And _you._ Ladies shouldn't be fightin'!"

"I was—" Kenya shook her head in disbelief.

I took a step forward to defend Kenya. "It wasn't her fault."

"Shut it!" Silver roared.

"It wasn't—"

"_Jim_—" Kenya began.

"I said—" Silver glared.

"It wasn't her fault, she was just trying to help me!" I held up my hands.

"Well, that changes somethin'," Silver said finally.

I leaned forward. "Really?"

"No!" Silver laughed, then stopped. "Double the chores," he said angrily. "I want this deck swabbed spotless, the two of ya, and heaven help ya if I come back and it's not done!"

With that, he stomped off.

"This is your fault," Kenya said, and walked in the opposite direction.

"Whatever," I called behind her, and dipped my mop into the bucket.

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><p><strong>Oooh, Kenya has an ATTITUDE!<br>But luckily Jim has one to match hers. :)  
><strong>

**2+ reviews and I shall update!**

**xx, Crystal **


	3. Gone Sucks

**Sorry this chapter is so short guys. It's supposed to about real heartfelt bonding between both Kenya and Jim, as well as Silver and Jim. **

**The part about Jim's father comes in here, and it was kinda sad writing it, but I hope I did good, emotionwise. But there WILL be more emotional scenes than this, I promise. **

**Okay, so 2+ reviews and I will update this chapter. :)**

**Enjoy. **

**xx, Crystal**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 3: Gone Sucks <strong>

**Kenya **

The sky was dark now, and all the stars were out.

I sighed and mopped the last bit and then leaned against the handle, rubbing the spot on my cheek. It had receded into nothing, but it was still slightly painful.

Jim looked up at me. "Uh, hey," he said awkwardly.

"Hey." I sighed.

"Look, I'm—" he stared at me. "Sorry."

I ran a hand through my hair. "No, it wasn't your fault. You're new, and it—yeah. It was stupid, but you know now so it should be okay. Thanks for sticking up for me." I gave him a smile, and he smiled back.

To ease up the tension, I leaned forward. "You looked so upset when you walked in earlier today."

His smile faded. "Oh. Yeah."

"Not excited to be onboard?"

"No!" He shook his head rapidly. "No, it's not that. I was really excited. I just...I didn't plan on _working_ to stay, that's all."

"Oh," I said, tilting my head. "You thought you'd just stay for free." I raised an eyebrow.

Jim chuckled. "Well, I did find the map, so...you know."

"The map?" I blinked.

Jim looked startled. "Oh, you don't—" He turned red. "Nevermind."

"What?"

He shook his head and busied himself with mopping. "Nothing. Forget it."

"...okay." I started mopping again, and then threw my mop aside. "We've worked for an hour, so I think we can take a break."

Jim laughed. "Awesome." He dropped the mop and leaned against the side of the railing, watching the stars. I walked over next to him.

"So what's your story?" he asked me uneasily.

"That's a hard question," I scratched my head. "Hmm. Start more specific."

He nodded. "Okay. How do you know Silver?"

I smiled. "Easy. He found me in Montressor Spaceport when I was really little. And he...pretty much adopted me. He's like my dad."

Jim's face darkened a bit when I said this, but I wasn't sure why. "Oh."

"Anymore questions?"

Jim sighed. "I dunno. Where's your family?"

"Gone."

Jim tilted his head. "Gone?"

"Yeah. Gone."

Jim nodded. "Gotcha."

"You ever had someone gone before?" I looked at him.

He was silent for a long time. "Yeah."

"Oh?"

"My dad."

"Oh."

"Uh." Jim's voice cracked, but then he rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at his hands that were resting on the side of the deck. "He left when I was eight. I never saw him again, so...yeah."

"Gone sucks," I said at last.

"You're right," Jim said glumly.

I looked at him. "Are you okay?"

He swallowed and nodded. "It's the first time I've actually told someone about my dad."

"Call me special!" I sang, then smiled at him.

Jim finally let out a laugh, and then smiled back.

"I'm gonna go make some purp juice. Want some?" I called over my shoulder, walking towards the steps to the galley.

"I'll be down in a minute," Jim told me, going to gather the mops and the bucket.

"Sure," I said. I paused at the top of the stairs and turned around, realizing something.

"Hey." I gave him a grin.

"Hey what?" He glanced back at me, adjusting his jacket.

"You should smile more." I tucked my hair behind my ears. "You look nice when you smile."

Jim looked a bit startled, but then relaxed into a grin. "Thanks."

I grinned and bounced downstairs, confused at my own behavior until I saw Silver at the bottom of the stairs, carrying a pot of leftovers and smirking at me.

_He heard everything. _

I groaned and walked past him, covering my pink cheeks with my hands.

* * *

><p><strong>Silver <strong>

As I walked upstairs carrying a large pot of leftovers, tailed by Morph, I saw Kenya running downstairs covering her pink cheeks.

I had a bit of sense of what was going on, but this behavior was extremely unlike Kenya. She was strong and bold, but didn't fall into things easily. I was wondering what on earth that boy had said to her as I walked to the front deck, where he was finishing up his mopping.

"We-ll," I said jovially, breaking the word into two syllables. "Thank heavens fer little miracles. Up here fer an hour and the deck's still in one piece."

The lad looked up at me, clutching the mop, and began to stammer out a sentence. "Look, I, uh—what you did—thanks."

I was startled by his sudden thank-you, because it didn't seem in the boy's nature to thank someone as quickly as he did now, but I leaned against the railing, dumping the leftovers out.

"Didn't yer pap ever teach you to pick yer fights a bit more carefully?"

The boy stared at me, then he busied himself mopping furiously again, scrubbing the floor with a vengeance.

Realization dawned on me. "Yer father's not the teachin' sort."

"No." The boy sighed and turned away. "He's more of the...taking off and never coming back sort."

"Oh." I felt a bit guilty about bringing it up now. "Sorry, lad."

"Eh, no big deal." He shrugged it off. "I'm doing just fine."

I rubbed my chin. "Is that so?" Then I straightened up with a grin. "Well...since the Cap'n has put you in my charge, like it or not I'll be poundin' a few skills into that thick head o' yours to keep you out o' trouble." I tapped the boy's forehead a couple times for emphasis and grinned widely at him.

He squinted at me. "_What?"_

I waved my hands superiorly. "From now on I'm not letting you out of me sight."

An indignant look filled Jimbo's eyes. "You can't—"

I continued. "You won't so much as eat, sleep, or _scratch your bum_ without my say-so."

He lunged forward angrily. "Don't do me any favors!"

I laughed, slapping him heartily on the back. "Oh, you can be sure of that, my lad. You can be sure of that."

* * *

><p><strong>The next chapter is "I'm Still Here," the song by John Rzeznik in the movie. <strong>

**I tried to make it still follow a storyline, and not make it a "songfic chapter." That WAS my original idea, but still, I changed it, because writers rework their chapters. :( (It's boring as hell). **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed!  
>Leave a review, please, and I'll return the favor for one of your stories. Or PM you. <strong>

**2+ reviews and I update :) **

**xx, Crystal **


	4. I'm Still Here

**Hey guys! This is the "I'm Still Here" chapter. **

**It's not a songfic, it's in story format. And it's kinda long I guess, but I hope you guys like it. I tried not to make it boring... but tell me if it is so I can fix that. :)  
><strong>**Thanks to theWriterunknown, AfriKat, and HeartofGold7 for their reviews. Thanks, you guys. So much! **

**Okay, 2+ reviews and I update again, kay?  
><strong>**Enjoy the chapter. **

**xx, Crystal **

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 4: I'm Still Here <strong>

**Kenya**

"I don't know _what _you and Silver argued about," I was saying to Jim with my hands on my hips as he looked miserable. "...but he plans on making you suffer for the rest of the voyage."  
>"Making <em>us<em> suffer." Jim grinned. "I'm taking you down with me."  
>I slapped my forehead. "Idiot."<br>The next couple of weeks were this form of Silver-torture that had reached the maximum level of bearance for me.

First, he had both of us pulling barnacles off the side of the ship. And let me tell you. There were definitely more than just a couple.

Jim was kneeling on a hanging board yanking away, and I was doing the same a distance away, and Silver apparently caught Jim staring at me, because I heard him yell, "Well, lad, you gonna stare at Kenya all day, or ya gonna put some elbow into it?"

Next, Silver had us peeling kalua fruit—yes, more of that stuff—for a soup, and as we did Jim and I talked about random stuff, including Jim's mom and how Jim wanted to make things right with her.

"I feel like I've really messed up," he was saying while flicking off the orangey skin of the fruit, "And I wanna make it up to her."  
>"That's sweet," I said, and nicked my thumb. Blood dripped to the floor.<p>

"Darn," I said awkwardly.

"You okay?!" Jim jumped up to grab a paper towel.

"I don't even know." I sighed.

The next awful task Silver had us doing was lowering a crate of cuttlebird meat down into the cellar by a rope. Unfortunately, the knot we made broke and the cuttlebird spilled out all over the floor.

"Oops," Jim and I said simultaneously as we stared at the spilled meat.

"Can't you pups even tie a proper knot?!" Silver exclaimed angrily. "C'mere. Lemme show ya kids how it's _done_."  
>So, the next half hour we agonized over ropes.<p>

Surprisingly, Jim got his done fast, and following his careful and precise movements, I figured out my own ropes.

When Silver turned to grab a new length of rope, Jim had already leapt out of the crow's nest and was walking along the edge of the ship, balancing perfectly.

"What the devil—" Silver looked at me, bewildered.

I shrugged. There was no explanation for Jim; he was just many layers hidden under a face of calm.

* * *

><p>"Washed the dishes?" Silver asked me.<p>

I dumped the last plate into the box. "Thank goodness. Yeah."  
>"Great!" Silver smiled. "You can join Jimbo on the deck with cleaning the floor."<p>

"But Silver!" I objected. "He doesn't—"

"No buts!" Silver told me, and busied himself with his cooking.  
>I grumbled all the way up the stairs.<p>

"Hey," Jim said to me wearily, swiping his arm across his forehead.

"It's freaking hot," I said in a crabby response, kneeling down to scrub the deck.

"It is," Jim said, raising his eyebrows.

Suddenly, I felt a spray of water hit my face. I screamed and tumbled over backwards.

it was funny. "You _jerk_!" I cried, splashing him back.

We heard footsteps and the clunking of metal on the stairs. "What's going on up there?!"

"Silver!" Jim hissed.

"Yikes!" I dove back to my position and scrubbed vigorously like the best cabin girl ever.

Halfway through our task, Silver clamored up, smirked at Jim, shoved the bucket at him, and pointed to a new area. "Ya missed a spot, boyo!"  
>Jim glared, but obligingly continued to clean.<p>

I had to admire him for not clear ripping Silver's head right off.

He glanced at me, about to explode.

I held in a laugh and crossed my eyes.

He breathed out a silent laugh and went back to work.

* * *

><p>"Hmm," Silver said as I emptied the water down in the galley later to get new water. I looked at Silver, and saw he was watching Jim clean. He had a smile on his face.<p>

"What's up?" I asked, nudging his arm.

Silver jumped, only then realizing I was there. He grunted. "I was makin' sure the lad was workin' properly. Why don'tcha go on up and help him, lass."  
>I grinned. "Okay. Whatever you say."<br>But I knew Silver, who had been so hard on us this past week, was beginning to grow fonder of Jim.

* * *

><p>"Almost done!" I breathed, grabbing the second to last pot in the pile of dishes Silver was making us wash after supper on the ship.<p>

"Thank goodness," Jim answered, cleaning the last dish off. He slumped backwards in his stool, letting out a long, relaxed breath.

"I'm so tired." I ran a hand through my hair. "I barely slept last night."  
>"Really?" Jim looked up. "Why not?"<br>"Oh, I just—"

We were interrupted by Silver coming down the stairs with a giant pile of _more _dishes, which he dumped in front of us and vanished up the stairs with.

Jim looked shocked. "What—"

I collapsed back to the ground, covering my face with my hands and groaning. "You're cruel, Silver, you know that?" I called up the stairs, scowling.

Glaring at the doorway where Silver had been, Jim grabbed a grubby pot and began to wash it without another word.

I sighed and joined him.

Soon, I was yawning almost every five seconds.

Jim looked up.

I winced apologetically. "Sorry. I'm just really—"

"Go to bed, then." Jim put down the pot.

I laughed. "Good one." I picked up another pan and began to wash it off in the giant basin in front of us.

Jim placed a hand on my wrist.

A shiver ran down my spine. It was the first time Jim had actually touched me, and I felt really weird.

But weird in a good way.

Jim's hand was still on my wrist, and his eyes were fixated on mine. "I'm serious, Kenya. Go to bed. I'll take care of this."  
>"No," I protested. "I don't want to leave you to do this all alone, Jim."<br>He shook his head. "I'm fine."  
>I shook my head, doubtful. "Are you—"<p>

"Yeah, positive. It's almost done anyway."  
>I snorted. "Yeah, right." We had barely cleared half.<p>

"I _got it_." Jim gently gave me a nudge. "Go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."  
>"<em>Really<em>?" I was shocked.

Jim rolled his eyes. "_Go_."  
>I stumbled in surprise towards the galley stairs, and then paused, turning around, where Jim was scrubbing away, head bent in the dim light, eyes shining in the dim light of the galley.<p>

"Jim," I said softly. "Thanks so much."  
>He squinted at me. "For doing the dishes?"<br>I giggled. "Not just that. For everything." It was really corny, but the way he smiled made me realize I had said exactly the right thing.

"Goodnight," I called, and then bounded up the stairs, hearing him say "Goodnight," in his rather sexy voice from down below.

* * *

><p><strong>Silver<strong>

I walked downstairs late at night to see if Jimbo and Kenya were done with the dishes, but when I got there Kenya was gone, and Jim was asleep on his stool, arms curled over a clean pot.

I blinked in astonishment as I surveyed the whole galley: every single pot and pan I had given the two of them to wash were perfectly clean and stacked in the galley in perfect order, just the way I liked it.

Morph and I exchanged glances, Morph's little pink tail wagging excitedly.

"I kinda like him too, Morphy," I told the little creature and pulled off my long black coat, wrapping it around the boy before heading slowly upstairs, giving myself a mental reminder to give the two of them a break tomorrow.

Heaven knows they had earned it.

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

Most nights, Jim and I worked together, but some lazy nights we were free, we'd either go our seperate ways or sit in the shrouds and listen to the silence.

Some nights I'd see him balanced on the edge of the crow's nest, his hair flying in the wind, his eyes searching the stars, as if for answers. Some nights he'd be silent as the grave, not passing comments, only smiling briefly at me with a sadness in his eyes, and I'd know he was remembering his past and I knew a thousand questions and apologies and regrets were swimming through his mind, and all I could do was gently rub his back or touch his hand briefly before breaking away. It was moments like these he had to figure it out alone.

Some nights he'd talk with me for a long time while we sat in the shrouds, and he'd teach me how to make my sailor's knots much better.

And some nights we got so close that we'd quickly realize the awkwardness and back down, but sometimes I wanted those close moments to go on, and I think he did too.

As we'd worked pretty well together, at the end of every week, Silver would give us a break with some hot coffee and let us listen to his wild stories, told to the crew below the galley.

We'd just sit and enjoy the far-fetched tales that would transport us to places we'd never even heard of.

"...and t'ere I was." Silver's face was illuminated softly by a lamp. "Surrounded by those horrible Etrians. They were crowdin' around me, their bulbous blue faces this close—_this_ _close_, gentleman—from me face. But was I scared?"  
>Jim smirked.<p>

Silver grinned. "Never. I advanced forward with my metal arm, zappin' them, burnin' them so they melted into nothing, killin' them all! T'ey would wish later on in their lives that they didn't mess with John Silver!"  
>"<em>Yeah<em>!" cheered the crew, and Silver would bang his mug of rum against another sailor's, and they'd drink madly.

"Are these stories even real?" Jim looked at me, brow furrowed.

"Yeah," I told him, cloaking my sarcasm with seriousness. "And I've battled Martians before."

Jim stared, then burst out laughing, realizing it was a joke. "Right."  
>I leaned forward. "Do you think I couldn't handle Martians?"<p>

Jim raised his eyebrows. "You could handle anything," he said quietly. "You're brave, Kenya."  
>I blinked, taken aback. "Brave?"<br>Jim took a sip of coffee, but didn't respond.  
>I laughed. "I'm not brave."<br>"Yeah, you are. Your parents are gone and you're still strong and brave about it."

"Uh, no," I told him bitterly. "I still cry for them. I'm still scared and I still want them back."  
>"But you're surviving," Jim told me gently.<br>"So are you," I pointed out. "You're living. I mean—" I laughed again, emotionlessly. "You have a life!"  
>"What I'm doing isn't living!" Jim sputtered. "You call future juvenile hall <em>living<em>? What I've been doing this long is just...like, not dying!"  
>I looked at him. "Would you rather have your current life or be a cabin boy forever?"<p>

"A cabin boy!" Jim exclaimed. "This is the life! I mean, yeah, you have to work but you can _travel_! Have adventures! And you get to hang with Silver."  
>"Since when do you think Silver's a hero?" I asked sourly. I didn't even know why I was feeling pissed—I just was.<p>

"Since never," Jim shook his head. "I'm just—he's cool. I guess I like him. He's nice."

"At least you have a mom," I said finally. "You should actually treat her well. You're lucky you have her."  
>Jim blinked in disbelief. "Uh...that was offensive."<br>I sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say you were a bad person. I was—" I got up and started up the stairs. "You know what, just forget it, okay? I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning."  
>"Whoa, hold on!" Jim got up and stumbled up the stairs after me.<p>

"I can't," I shook my head. "I'm tired."  
>Jim stood in the galley entrance, and then followed me up the stairs. "Kenya, wait!"<p>

I stopped.

He came around to stand in front of me. "What's going on? We were _fine _a few minutes ago."  
>"We're still fine!" I exploded.<p>

Jim stared at me, shocked.

I massaged my temples. "I'm really tired, Jim. It's late. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"  
>"But—" he interjected.<p>

"Please," I requested.

He sighed and moved.

I walked past him and into the galley, into my room.

I locked the door, sank to the floor and wished I could talk about Jim Hawkins to somebody, and how good his smiles and his simple touches and even his comforting words made me feel.

But the only person I wanted to talk to about Jim Hawkins, was Jim Hawkins.

* * *

><p><strong>It's kinda cute, Kenya's feelings. <strong>

**Because some of those feelings are feelings I feel now: "The only person I wanted to talk to about Jim Hawkins was Jim Hawkins."  
>But not with Jim Hawkins, my best friend. Hahaha, LIFE DRAMA. <strong>

**Anyways. **

**2+ reviews, please, guys! And any feedback is appreciated. **

**xx, Crystal **


	5. Her Nightmares

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the support this story is getting. I'm having lots of fun writing it, even though writing is a tedious experience. Tedious, but FUN! :)**

**This chapter is really short, but hope it's worth it. The next chapter will hopefully be longer than this. **

**Anyway, thanks to HeartOfGold7, AfriKat, Dancer who loves Westerns, and theWriterUnknown for their supportive reviews! :) **

**2+ reviews and I update the next chapter. **

**xx, Crystal**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 5: Her Nightmares <strong>

**Jim**

I woke up to terrifying screams from the west side of the Legacy. I fell out of my hammock, blinking into the darkness, unable to figure out where it was from.

Suddenly, I realized who it was: _Kenya_.

I stumbled through the room, feeling my way up the stairs without a light until I managed to shove the door open.

Starlight stained the front deck of the Legacy silver colored, and I shoved myself, despite sleepy eyes and tired limbs through the front deck and down the steps of the galley.

Silver's room was right next to Kenya's, but I heard him snoring like a spaceship engine.

"Kenya?!" I knocked on the door, at first lightly, but then harder.

The screams kept coming, but she wasn't opening the door. Was something attacking her? My heart pounding, I grabbed onto the handle, stepped back a few feet, and then ran against it. The door gave, and I shoved it open.

Kenya was lying on her bed, her eyes shut, tangled up in her blanket and sheets, her hair messy and wild against the pillow, screaming and twisting around.

"No!" she was crying. "No, Mom, don't go! Dad, wait! You have to take me with you! Where are you going? Will you come back?"  
>Tears stained her cheeks, and I had never seen Kenya like this. I closed the door and rushed to her bedside.<p>

She was pulling at her hair and I was scared she'd hurt herself. I grabbed her wrists, pinning them above her head so she couldn't harm herself.

She screamed and twitched "_Mom_!"  
>"Kenya! <em>Kenya<em>, stop it!" I held onto her hands while shaking her shoulders vigorously.

"_Let go_—"

"Wake up—"

"_STOP IT! MOM—"_

"Kenya, it's me—"

She calmed down a little, the twitching receding, and then her eyes fluttered open slowly and she gasped. "_Jim_!"  
>I let go of her quickly, backing off.<p>

"What happened?" Kenya was shaking as she sat up. She was wearing a white t-shirt and her blue shorts from a couple days ago as she swung her legs out of bed. "Was I—"

"Dreaming," I told her quietly. "You were crying and—"  
>"Oh!" Kenya covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, Jim—did I wake you up?"<br>I looked down awkwardly. "No, you, uh—"

With a groan, Kenya buried her face into her hands. Her shoulders shook, and I took a step forward. "You okay?"  
>"I'm so humiliated," Kenya whispered into her hands. "I can't <em>believe<em>—"

"It's okay." I sat down next to her awkwardly, and I wasn't sure what to do. I ran through a mental list. _Do I, like, hug her? Or pat her back?  
><em>I settled for wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rubbing her shoulder in gentle circles.

"Was I...was I _saying _anything?" Kenya asked timidly, looking up at me.

"Um." I rubbed my neck.  
>"Tell me!" Kenya grabbed my arm. "Jim, if I was saying something, you need to—"<p>

"You were calling for your mom," I said softly. "And your dad. And you were saying something about them leaving and not taking you with them."  
>Kenya rubbed her temples. "Oh." Her voice was small.<br>I stood awkwardly. "I'd better go. Are you okay?"  
>Kenya nodded, staring into her lap. She looked up timidly. "Could you st—" She broke it off, staring at her lap again.<p>

"Could I what?" I took a step forward. Was she going to say _Could you stay?  
><em>"Nothing." Kenya waved her hand. "Sorry. Nevermind. I was just—nothing."  
>I was a teensy bit disappointed, but I knew Kenya and I weren't at that <em>relationship<em> where I could just randomly be in the same bedroom as her, watching her sleep. First off, that was beyond creepy, as were just friends.  
>"Okay." I opened the door. "You're sure you're alright?"<p>

"Yeah. I'm fine." Kenya nodded and gave me a tiny smile that seemed out of place on her scared, tearstained face.

"Cool." I nodded and slipped outside her bedroom. "Goodnight."  
>But Kenya remained silent.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

I woke up the next morning humiliated because of my screaming last night, and how Jim had to come play hero in my room. I was embarrassed because I cried, and embarrassed because I had been dreaming about my parents, who had probably forgotten I was even alive.

I glumly got dressed in a red tank top and a pair of white shorts, tied my hair in a ponytail and walked outside to the front deck.

Jim and Silver were heartily talking down in the galley, and I paused at the stairs briefly to listen:

Silver was speaking: "So...on a completely unrelated note, lad, how close _are _you with Kenya?"  
>I heard Jim's nervous laugh, and he stammered: "I don't know. Why're you asking?"<br>I heard rustling. "I don't know. I just—I seen the way you look at 'er."  
>I sucked in air. <em>Seen the way he looked at me?What way?!<em>

"She's nice," was Jim's reply.

"And?" Silver pressed.  
>I heard him exhale. "She makes me want to be different."<p>

I ran a hand through my hair. _I...did_?  
>"How?" Silver requested softly.<p>

"Just..." Jim trailed off. "I dunno. Just _better_ somehow. Stop hurting people with what I do. Stop getting in trouble. She makes me...happy."  
>I was smiling hugely despite myself.<br>"Kenya's a great lass," Silver said finally, after taking in Jim's response. "She been through so much, but she was toughin' through it all with a smile."  
>"Yeah," I heard Jim say slowly. "Her parents...they left her, didn't they?"<br>"Yes," Silver told him. "I found 'er abandoned, and I took her in. She's practically a daughter ter me."  
>"Yeah," Jim said vaguely. "Do you know...how exactly she feels about me?"<br>They were just discussing me nonchalanly, like I was a _chair_.

"Erm." I could hear the absolute cluelessness in Silver's voice. "I don't, actually. Try bein' brave, lad, and ask 'er."  
>"Yeah, but she's—" Jim stopped as I walked down the stairs with a cheery smile plastered on my face.<p>

"Mornin', Kenya." Silver carried on as if their little conversation had never happened. He put a bowlful of Velaxan _cremiera_ in front of me with a spoon so I could eat the sweet sugary stuff for breakfast.

"Thanks," I told him groggily, sitting down.

"Pleasant night?" Silver asked me, like every morning. "Didja take me advice and drink some milk with mellowdew?"  
>"Yeah," I told him.<p>

Silver grinned. "And?"  
>"I slept well," I lied, tucking my hair back and taking a bite of the cremiera.<p>

Jim bent his head to his cremiera.

"There's plenty work awaitin' for you two after ya eat. So hurry up, eat, and then, Kenya, you can take stock of the items in the galley; and Jim, you can just go ahead and start sweeping up in here—it's getting plenty dusty. Come ter me afterwards for some lunch." With that, Silver pushed back from the table with a grunt and disappeared onto the front deck.

Jim and I ate in silence for a while. I ate as fast as I could, grabbed my bowl and dumped it in the sink.

Jim was staring at me when I turned around. My cheeks turned pink.

"You heard," he said in realization. He stood up, eyes widening. "You _heard_!"  
>I laughed it off. "Heard what?"<br>He stopped. "You—I thought you heard what Silver and I were just talking about."  
>I shrugged. "I heard some of it as I was walking downstairs."<br>Jim sighed and sat down on the chair. "Oh."  
>"I make you want to be different?" I don't know why, but this particular line Jim said had somehow struck a chord in my heart.<p>

Jim swallowed. "Uh. You weren't actually supposed to hear—"

"Sorry." I laughed quietly. "It was nice, though."  
>Jim blinked. "Really?"<br>"Yeah."  
>He gave a tiny satisfied smile. "Oh. Okay. That's good." He chuckled awkwardly and dropped his bowl into the sink. "I thought maybe you felt awkward and—"<p>

"That too," I told him as I brushed past towards the shelves to take stock.

"Ah." Jim blushed.  
>"But it was awkward in a good way," I promised him quickly.<p>

"More awkward was coming into your room last night." Jim rubbed his eyes with a smile. "I was legitimately terrified something was killing you, and then it was, you know."  
>I winced. "Yeah. Not a killer. Sorry. About the terror and the awkwardness."<br>Jim grinned. "But it was awkward in a good way." Then he vanished up to the deck to get the broom and dustpan.

And I smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Awwwww :) <strong>

**Young love is so cute!  
><strong>**Please give me feedback, you guys! 2+ reviews and I update the chapter!  
><strong>**xx, Crystal **

**PS feel free to PM me anytime if you want me to read your story or just talk or anything! :) **


	6. Star Canal

**Hey guys! Thanks SO much for 285 views only 5 chapters into the story. It progressed REALLY quickly, because two days ago I only had about 70 views. :D**

**Thanks for the reviews coming in, each one makes my day! I'm really enjoying writing this story, and please feel free to give me feedback about any aspect of it, as well as suggestions and ideas, if you want. :)  
><strong>**Thanks to Dancer who loves Westerns, HeartOfGold7, Julisa Monroe, and Dots for their reviews! Your reviews really encourage me, you guys! **

**Okay, raising the stakes a little here: 3+ reviews and I update. Can we do it? ;) Please get me to thirty reviews if you can! My pathetic little goal, lol. **

**Okay. Enjoy the chapter!**

**xx, Crystal**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 6: Star Canal <strong>

**Jim**

Tonight was one of those nights were I remembered my dad _really well_. I remembered his brown hair and slight stubble and his tan skin and his well built body.

I realized in a lot of ways my appearance was very similar to his, and I hated it.

Sighing, I sat up in the shrouds, waiting for Kenya to finish her chores.

I remembered that day like so clearly it was like it had happened yesterday.

I remembered waking up to the sun shining in my room and seeing my dad walking with a bag slung across his shoulders down the long sloping road towards a waiting spaceship and I remember stumbling down the stairs in my PJs. I felt the pricking in my eyes just as the shrouds rustled. I looked down and saw Kenya climbing up.

"Hi!" she said cheerily. "Thank _goodness_ I'm finished! I was gonna—" She paused. "What's wrong?"  
>I blinked rapidly. "Nothing."<p>

Kenya looked doubtful, but to my absolute gratefulness she dropped the subject.

"What's Montressor like?" She asked finally, lying back on the shrouds.  
>I turned. "It's the most boring place imaginable," I said dully. "It's all gray with noth—"<p>

She gave me a serious look. "I'm _serious_. Say something good about it too."  
>I shook my head. "Montressor is a mining planet. There's lots of buildings and roads and lots of pollution going on. It's <em>gray<em>, Kenya. Like, completely gray. And there's coal dust on the roads everywhere. But there _are_ these fantastic old mines that have these working, turning cogs. They're great for solar surfing. And Montressor has lots of these cliffs that you can ride off on too—"

"Hold it!" Kenya put up her hand. "What's solar surfing?"  
>I laughed. "It's amazing. It's the one thing I actually love doing in Montressor."<br>"What's a solar surfer?"  
>I looked at her in disbelief. "You've never seen one before?"<br>"Nope."  
>"Remind me to teach you how to ride one."<br>"Please do," Kenya said pleasantly. "Now tell me what it is."  
>I nodded. "It's this board with an accelerator, an engine, and solar sails, and you use a throttle to make it fly. You can do all kinds of stunts with it and it's really dangerous. Dangerous but awesome."<br>"And that's why you like it." Kenya laughed.

I nodded. "Exactly." I stretched back on the shrouds as well, next to her. "Tell me about _your _home planet."  
>"Umm, Lindell," Kenya said, wrinkling her nose. "It's covered with forests. Chief export: lumber. There are lots of trees and I remember playing with them, a long long time ago when I actually had a family and lived in one permanent place. When I had a home."<p>

"You have a home," I told her gently. "Your home is with Silver."  
>Kenya opened her mouth, then closed it. "I guess that's true," she admitted.<p>

I nodded slowly. My mind drifted back to that day when my dad left and I started thinking about it, it started screaming and swirling in my mind, hurting me. I shut my eyes tight and clenched my fists until I felt a hand touching my fingers.

I jerked out of my trance, staring at Kenya, who's concerned face was tilted towards me. "You okay?"  
>"Yeah," I said through gritted teeth, trying to hold the emotion in.<p>

"No," Kenya said with raised eyebrows. "You're lying to me."  
>"Can you drop it?!"<br>"Just tell me."  
>"I can't, okay? Now <em>drop it."<br>_"You need to talk," Kenya said matter of factly. "You can't keep things bottled up inside."  
>I shut my eyes. "You sound like my mom."<br>"Maybe you should start listening to your mom."  
>I chuckled and covered my face with my hands. "I'm thinking about my dad. And the day he left."<br>I heard Kenya's sharp intake of breath, and she rubbed my arm. "Oh. I didn't realize. You don't have to—"

I continued anyway. "The morning he left, I saw him walking off and I think...it was the scariest feeling of them all. The feeling that I was losing someone."  
>"Is that one of your fears?" She whispered.<p>

I nodded finally. "Yeah. And I ran downstairs and saw my mom crying at our breakfast table and...my world pretty much shattered."  
>"Did you go after him?" Kenya asked, her hand still on my arm.<p>

I swallowed. "I ran down the road after him and I yelled after him. I yelled at him to stop, to please stop but he just kept going and he never looked back."

Kenya was quiet.

I shook my head. "Yeah. Failure, I know."  
>"No!" She leaned towards me. "You're not the failure here. <em>He<em> is. He missed out on raising a great kid that's gonna grow into a great person."  
>I chuckled. "Thanks." I slid down the shrouds. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"<br>Kenya nodded and followed. "Sure. Thanks for telling me about your dad. Goodnight, Jim." She smiled at me, and I was struck off-guard about these new feelings I felt for her that made me feel vulnerable, but also pretty happy, believe it or not.

" 'Night," I told her.

I shifted towards the sleeping quarters, but my eyes were busy watching Kenya walk down the deck towards the galley and vanish down the steps.

I stood there in the stars and had a revelation: I had never told anyone this stuff about my dad in full excruciating detail. Kenya was the only one. She hadn't even pressed me for answers—I felt a strange comfort and trust in telling her everything. I knew she wouldn't go, "I'm so sorry." I knew she'd give me a flat, straightforward answer that would satisfy me completely.

I took a deep breath, thought no more of my father, and went straight to bed.

* * *

><p>I woke up sometime past midnight to get a glass of water.<p>

My throat unbelievably dry and scratchy, I crawled up the stairs wearily onto the deck to cross into the galley, but the sight I saw was so unbelievable I instantly forgot my thirst.

We were passing through millions of bright shining stars scattered across our entire path. I raced across the deck to the edge of the ship to gape at the amazing sight before me.

Within seconds, I knew who I would like to share this moment with.

I whirled around and dashed into the galley, down through a small hallway where Silver and Kenya's rooms were nestled.

I knocked on Kenya's door, and I heard her startled moan from inside.

"Who's there?" she called warily from inside the bedroom.

"It's me, it's Jim!" I called. "Open up! Quick!"  
>The door flew open and Kenya stood there, breathless. "What's wrong?! Is someone hurt?"<br>She wore a white tight-fitting cami top with black silky shorts that were _really _short. Her hair was in this messy braid that flopped over one shoulder, and her eyes were wide.  
>"I need to show you something." In a quick impulse, I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her bedroom and up the stairs onto the front deck.<p>

"Are you insa—" Kenya stopped, gasping.

We both stood there, bathed in starlight, for what seemed like an eternity before she ran to the edge of the ship and stretched out her hand. "This is sooo _amazing_!" Kenya cried.

I nodded eagerly. "Isn't it? What is this place?"  
>"It's the Star Canal," Kenya informed me. "It's a passageway directly through a million stars. It's so bright, isn't it? Be glad we didn't travel through here at daytime—it's unbearably hot. But at night, it's unbearably cold, so I guess that evens things out."<br>I adjusted my brown jacket around me—it _was_ getting cold out.

"Let's go higher," I suggested.

"Yeah!" Kenya pulled herself onto the shrouds and we climbed higher and higher, straight into the heavens.

"What now?" I asked, when we were on top of the shrouds. "Sit here?"  
>"Higher!" Kenya commanded, her eyes bright. "The crow's nest."<br>"Isn't Onus up there?" I demanded.

Kenya put her finger to her lips. "He's _supposed_ to be but he's actually sleeping in a hammock down below. He needs his 'beauty sleep.'"  
>I laughed. "Seriously?"<br>"It's a secret." Kenya smiled at me. She hauled herself into the crow's nest, and I followed after her, waiting to see what this night would hold.

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

"It's cramped up here," I complained.

"It was your idea to sit up in the crow's nest," Jim reminded me, nudging me over so he could get some more space.

"I forgot how small this place was." I defended myself with a grin.

"Cramped is fine, anyway," Jim told me, and leaned back againt the mast, putting his feet up onto the circular edge of the crow's nest. "This is nice."  
>I copied his posture, leaning back and putting my feet up. "It is."<br>My face was close to Jim, and when I turned, I could see the longing in his eyes.

"Were you born to travel?" I asked. "Or stay in one place?"  
>Jim looked at me, and his eyes said all. "<em>Travel<em>." But then he shook his head rapidly. "I mean, not once I have a family. If it's just, me, yeah; I'd travel. But I'd never want to walk out on my family."  
>I nodded. "You're totally right."<br>It was quiet for a long time after that.

"It's hard to make out constellations up here," Jim said, squinting into the light. "The stars are kind of this one big mess."  
>I laughed. "I know. It's like someone had a bowl of stars and they just poured it out across the sky."<br>"That's one way to look at it." Jim chuckled.

I pulled my legs down off the edge and pulled my knees to my chest, shivering unexpectedly.

"What?" Jim glanced at me.

"Huh?"  
>"Are you cold?"<br>I looked back at the sky, shrugging as if it was no big deal. "I'm good."  
>I looked back at Jim and he was pulling his jacket off. I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew he was being a gentleman and that was perfectly alright with me.<p>

He wrapped the brown jacket around my shoulders, and it smelled nice. Just like Jim.

I put my arms into the sleeves and crossed them over my chest, tightening the jacket around me. "Thanks."  
>"No problem." Jim waved it off.<p>

"So how long do we stay up here?" I whispered to Jim.

"As long as we want."  
>"I want to stay forever."<p>

Jim took a deep breath. "Me too. Up here I feel—"

"Safe?" I looked at him.

He turned around and breathed out a single word: "Exactly."  
>His forehead bumped mine and jerked me back into reality, but his dark blue eyes were still staring into mine. Our faces were too close for two just-friends, but what the hell did that just-friends stuff matter.<p>

_What was I saying?!  
><em>This was so unlike me. I was Kenya Kessler—I needed to be careful. There was really no one I could trust besides Silver in this world. I couldn't go getting up close and intimate with Jim. I would never get myself out of that tangle.

I pulled my face back, and self-consciously, so did Jim.

"Uh," he muttered. "My bad."  
>"What?" I shook my head. "It was nobody's bad, it's okay. I'm just...not very good with this."<br>"This?" Jim gestured around us. "What's _this_?"  
>"The crow's nest," I joked, trying to stray from the subject.<p>

"Kenya."  
>I sighed. "I don't really trust anybody. Only Silver. I mean, after my parents left—I'm sorry."<p>

Jim looked a bit defeated, and he ran his hands through his hair. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, but I doubted that made anything better.

"You don't have to be sorry," Jim told me, and then looked back at the stars.

I ran my hands along the sleeves of the brown jacket. It was soft inside.

"So," I said awkwardly, leaning my head back.

Jim didn't respond, he just looked at me

I shrugged awkwardly and placed my hand near his.

Jim picked up my hand slowly, rubbing his thumb along my knuckles. My skin tingled with pleasure and I smiled at him.

"You have a tattoo." Jim rubbed his thumb across the inside of my wrist.

I shrugged. "Um, no. I got it when I was little, actually. When I was an orphan at the Spaceport. Before Silver found me."  
>"A little girl getting a tattoo?"<br>I sighed. "Not exactly. I mean, it's not a tattoo. Someone..."  
>Jim raised his eyebrows. "Someone?"<br>"Someone..." I looked down. "Someone branded it into my skin."  
>Jim gasped and grabbed my hand. "<em>Branded <em>it into your—" he gaped. "Did it hurt?"  
>"God, yeah." I rubbed my neck. "I remember it really well."<br>"Will you tell me?"  
>I looked shyly at him. "Maybe a little later, when I feel more comfortable. Okay?"<p>

Jim let go of my hand. "Absolutely. Yeah. Whenever you feel like it." Then he looked at me, unblinking, calm.  
>When he looked at me, I felt like I was gonna pass out from the beautiful gaze he gave me. I bit my lip. "Can I ask you a question?" I had to attempt to bring things back to our regular playful talk, change the subject.<p>

"Sure."

I flicked his little braided ponytail. "Why do you have this?"

Jim immediately smiled. "I don't know. Do you like it?"  
>I gave him my honest answer. "A lot." I flicked the little gold hoop in his left ear. "This is nice, too. Makes you seem kinda..."<br>"Rebellious?" Jim raised his eyebrows in a suave manner.

I nodded. "Exactly."  
>Jim grinned at me. "I guess I just wanted to be rebellious."<p>

I let out a little breath, relieved that things were okay.

"Look, Kenya," Jim said as soon as I had breathed out.

I looked at him.

"I may be rebellious," Jim said slowly. "I may be annoying, or overly upset, or overdramatic or whatever else sometimes, but I am _not_ a liar. So you can trust me. With anything. I won't do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble."  
>My eyes widened in disbelief.<p>

"I promise," Jim said finally.

I nodded breathlessly.

He leaned over, placed his hand on my shoulder for a few seconds, then stood up, and slid out of the crow's nest, picking his way down the shrouds until he walked across the front deck, headed towards the galley.  
>"You're not going to sleep?" I asked.<p>

"No," he said slowly. "Don't think I can."

I nodded, turned and headed down into my room.

Once I had closed and locked the door, I released the breath I'd been holding for a long time.

_But I am NOT a liar. _

_So you can trust me. _

_With anything. _

_I won't do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble_.

The words danced in my mind on endless replay all the way back to my bedroom until it drowned out my brain telling me that I couldn't trust anyone.

The heart comes over the mind.

* * *

><p>I still couldn't sleep.<p>

I lay in bed, my eyes shut tight, in the blackness, imagining a strange scenario I never thought I'd even think of.

Jim and I lay together, under the stars. I gently turned my face to look towards him, and his soft lips grazed mine, gently.

_You can trust me, _Dream Jim said, his voice a low whisper that made me skin rush with prickles of delight and desire. _With anything. I won't do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble. I promise._

Then our lips touched gently, and I smiled through the blissful kiss.

I forced my eyes open. I could not allow that to happen. Not to Jim, not to me. That was two many broken hearts, too many broken feelings, too many torn emotions.

I yanked myself out of bed. Cold sweat was dripping underneath the straggles of hair hanging into my eyes. I yanked my hair back into a high ponytail, grabbed a long dark blue wool sweater that went down to mid-thigh over my black night shorts and white cami top. Needing a glass of water for my parched throat, I ascended the stairs to the front deck and then walked across it down to the galley. Surprisingly, a dim light was glowing and I found Jim sitting at the countertop, staring at a glass of cloudy coffee.

"Hey," I said, surprised.

He nearly jumped out of his skin. "_Kenya!"_

"It's me!" I said with a tiny laugh, climbing down to the bottom of the stairs. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"  
>"Scared the <em>shit <em>out of me." He took a gulp of his coffee.

"Watch your mouth, James Hawkins." I sat down across from him and smiled.

"Like you don't swear," Jim scoffed. "Miss Perfect."  
>I snorted and changed the subject. "Any coffee left? I can't sleep."<br>"Nightmares again?" Jim swallowed his mouthful of coffee and gestured to where the rest of the coffee was. I poured myself a steaming cup and then took a sip. It tasted pretty good. Midnight Coffee. I gulped down half of it in an attempt to make my brain start functioning again. "No, not the nightmares. Just couldn't sleep."  
>I couldn't tell him I had been thinking about him and that led me to wild and crazy insomnia.<p>

"So," Jim said evenly. "Do you maybe want to tell me about the tattoo branded into your wrist now? Is now a good time?"  
>I laughed. "Sure. If you want to hear it, and have nothing better to do."<br>"Nope." Jim leaned forward. "I'm all ears."  
>"Well, alright." I cleared my throat. "I was a little girl, and I was abandoned and sitting alone at Montressor Spaceport after my parents left me, and Silver hadn't found me yet. Then a man came and sat next to me. I think he might have been Antresian. He looked it."<br>"Mmhmm."  
>I continued, my throat growing dry as I remembered that night. "He sat down next to me, on this barrel, and he began to talk to me. I wasn't sure, because he was speaking a different language. But I just ignored him and kept watching the sailors walk by. He kept talking to me, and I got scared because he was getting louder and louder. Then he began to speak in Lindellian, the native language of Lindell."<br>"Yeah?"  
>"And then I understood him, and I was a little girl, so I thought he was trying to help me. He said something like, 'I'll give you food to eat and something to drink, come with me.' I genuinely trusted him. I was ready to trust anybody that would give me a meal and some shelter and some compassion."<br>Jim nodded slowly, understanding what was coming.  
>I swallowed again. "So he took me inside this little building. It was like a bar, I guess. And there were all sorts of strange aliens giving away food and drink inside. It smelled really good, and I wanted something to eat. So this strange man never gave me his name, but he bought me food, and he bought me something to drink, and asked me many things about me in Lindellian. And I told him all about myself, how my parents abandoned me, how old I was." I ran a hand through my hair. "I was so stupid."<p>

"Not stupid," Jim said in a quiet voice. "Just young. And lost."  
>I nodded, trying not to cry. "And I answered him everything. And at the end of the night, I felt kinda...<em>drunk<em>. He had actually drugged my food and drink, cleverly. Then he said he was going to give me somewhere to sleep. He took me upstairs, and then I kinda realized he was going to hurt me because he closed and locked the door and began to remove his jacket and hat and things."  
>Jim nodded and I felt him gently patting my hand.<br>"So even though I was feeling really confused, I still got up and tried to leave. I ran against the door several times, because I couldn't understand what I was doing."  
>"Heavy drug."<br>"Hell yeah." I nodded my agreement, because it _had_ been a heavy drug, that made my head feel a thousand tons. "Next thing I knew, he grabbed my wrist and threw me down, and then pressed this little iron ring he had onto my skin. It was cold at first, and then so hot it burned. And then next thing I knew, there was a design burned into my skin."  
>Jim shook his head in shock. "He...took advantage of you?"<br>I shook my head. "No." I got to the door and pretty much fell down the stairs, with him following me. I fell down the stairs while a certain customer walked inside to get a drink, and he took one look at me and the man chasing me down the stairs and understood what was going on."  
>Jim was tracing the design on my wrist with his index finger, which sent chills of pleasure as well as horrible memories flying into my mind. "Was that customer Silver?"<br>"Yeah." I nodded. "That was him. He helped me up, and then I remembered him laying punches on the alien. Next thing I knew, I was down in the basement of the bar, and Silver was standing there with a doctor, who confirmed that I had not been taken advantage of, that I was merely a bit beaten. And he assessed the burn, and said it was going to scar forever."  
>Jim winced.<br>I kept going. "The doctor said a relative needed to pay for the assessment he gave me, and Silver paid in full, and said he was my only living relative. Then he helped me up, bought me some _real _food, _undrugged_, and took me to the Legacy, and told me I could stay with him and he'd keep me safe and protect me and give me food and shelter—as long as I worked under him on the ship as a cabin girl and cook's assistant. Of course I agreed, because I needed food and shelter. And I've been working with Silver since that day."  
>Jim whistled. "Wow. Quite a story you got there."<br>I nodded. "Yep."  
>"Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me." Jim smiled a little at me, and I managed one back, because he looked really nice smiling.<br>"Wanna tell me _your_ story?" I asked Jim, who looked a bit unsure.

He picked up a spoon and gently swirled his coffee in his mug, staring into the cloudy liquid as if the answer to my question would be swimming around in it. He cleared his throat and kept stirring, stabbing at the bottom of the mug. "My story? It's kind of long," he said quietly.

"Well, I'm all ears."

He chuckled. "Okay. Um. Well. So, I guess—so, I was solar surfing. In these old mines in Montressor, and I was having a great time."  
>"That sounds fun."<br>"Yeah." Jim nodded. "Until the _cops_ came. And it was my second strike, and they were telling me that if it happened again, they'd cart me off to juvy."  
>"Really? For solar surfing?"<br>He shrugged. "Eh, it's dangerous, I guess. To pedestrians. And equipment. And me."  
>I laughed. "Why do you do it?"<br>"For the _feeling_," Jim said, leaning forward and making his voice lower. "I don't feel things easily, believe me. And then when I'm solar surfing,with the wind in my face, old ladies screaming at me to get down off the solar surfer—"

I was laughing hard by now. "Ohmygod, Jim."  
>He was laughing too. "Yeah. I feel when I'm solar surfing...and I feel...when I'm with you."<br>I turned bright red. I pressed my hands over my cheeks, which were turning warm. "Oh."  
>Jim turned red as well and swiftly continued. "Anyway. I got in trouble, and I was at home and there was a crash. A spaceship crashed out near my mom's inn. And I went down there to see what was wrong, and this old alien guy ended up coming out half-dead with this strange chest."<br>I leaned forward, intrigued. "A chest?"  
>"Yeah. So I helped the guy, with his chest, into our inn. But by the time I got him inside, he...passed away."<br>"Oh?" I was surprised.  
>"But he told me something before he died." Jim leaned forward so his lips were grazing the side of my face, next to my jawline. "He said, <em>beware the cyborg<em>."  
>I blinked. "Beware the..." I stopped.<br>One look at Jim's face and I understood. "You think the old alien guy was talking about _Silver_?"  
>Jim shook his head. "No, that's not—I mean, yes."<br>My eyes widened. "Now, hold on, Jim, that's not f—"

"Listen to me." Jim put his hand on my arm, effectively silencing me from the pure authority of his touch. "When I first got on, I didn't trust Silver because of the message. But now, I do. Because I know he isn't a bad person."  
>I let out a little sigh of relief. "He isn't."<br>"I know." Jim nodded. "I know, Kenya. But that's not all. In the chest, there was this round map with a code that you have to crack. I took the map to try and see what it was. But then my house was attacked."  
>"Attacked?! By?"<br>"I don't know. There were aliens that came and ransacked our house, and then set it on fire. Me and my mom, we escaped with Doc to his place, and we ended up staying there. At Doc's, I was playing around with the map, and ended up cracking the code. And the map shows us the way to..." Jim paused to swallow. "Where we're going now."  
>I was now completely engrossed. "Where are we headed now?"<br>Jim stood. "I should go to bed. I already told you too much. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone."  
>"Jim, wait!" I stood up, desperately, moving around the table to grab his arm as he went up the stairs to the front deck. "I won't tell anyone!"<br>"I know you won't."  
>"Then why won't you tell me?"<br>Jim closed his eyes. "I just can't."

I was a little hurt. "Don't you trust me?"  
>His head snapped around to face me. "Of course I do."<br>"Then tell me!"  
>He shook his head slowly. "Sorry, Kenya. But when we get there, you'll know. You'll know everything, then, I promise."<br>Defeated, I sighed. "Fine."  
>Jim nodded and climbed the stairs to his sleeping quarters, and after processing his entire story, I climbed up the stairs and went to bed as well.<p>

But I still wasn't able to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so this might've been boring, but it was Kenya and Jim's "backstory" in a way. And they really got closer in this scene, because learning more about each other makes you closer. At least, that's what I've been told, haha. ANYWAYYYYY any ideas, suggestions, or feedback, PM me or leave a review :)<strong>

**3+ reviews and I update. **

**xx, Crystal **


	7. The Feeling of Loving

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, and the PMs, and everything. Please keep reading, don't give up on this story! I'm really enjoying writing it. **

**Thanks to HeartofGold7, Dancer who loves Westerns, and AfriKat for their wonderful reviews. They make my day!  
><strong>**3+ reviews and I'll update!  
>Everyone have an awesomesauce Thanksgiving!<strong>

**Sorry this is such a short chapter, btw. **

**xx, Crystal**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 7: The Feeling of Loving <strong>

**Jim**

I woke up the next morning feeling groggy, as I had barely slept.  
>I kept seeing Kenya sitting up close to me in the crow's nest...<p>

Either way, since Silver would probably cook me and serve me for breakfast to the crew if I didn't show up on time, I pulled myself out of bed, forced myself to get dressed, and made it down to the galley in time for breakfast, which was a hot pudding Silver made.

Kenya was already down there, but she was asleep, her face right next to the bowl.

I sighed and sat down in my seat, putting my head down too.

I woke up to Silver screaming, "JIMBO!" in my ear.

Kenya screamed and woke with a start, a hand pressed to her chest.

I nearly tumbled out of my chair. "_What_?!" I yelled back at Silver, genuinely terrified something was wrong.

"Why're ya both _sleeping_?!" Silver demanded, eyebrows raised.

"I'm tired!" Kenya shot at him.

"Hope being tired isn't against the rules!" I grumbled, putting my head back down.

"Don't get smart," Silver growled at me. "What's the reason you two are so tired today, mm?" Silver sat down across from us, glaring. He looked at Kenya. "You, lass! You been sleepin' for about twenty minutes! Yer pudding is prob'ly stone cold."  
>"Sorry." Kenya took a spoonful and made a face. "You're right."<br>Silver rolled his eyes. "I asked ya two a question."  
>I was quiet, looking at Kenya.<p>

She was pretending to chew.

"I was..." I trailed off.

"You were...?" Silver waved his hand.  
>"I..."<br>"Get on wit' it, lad!"  
>I took a spoonful of pudding and pretended to choke.<p>

Kenya bit her lip. "We were..."  
>"Ah-<em>hah<em>!" Silver stood and pointed at the two of us.

"What?!" me and Kenya exclaimed in unison.

" '_We_'." Silver smirked. "You said _we_, lass."  
>Kenya furrowed her brow. "Yeah. I did. So?"<br>"You two were doin' somethin' together, then?" Silver grinned triumphantly at us.  
>Kenya's eyes went wide as balloons, and then she cringed.<p>

I rubbed my eyes. "Silver, I can't do this right now—"

"Am I right?" Silver bellowed, laughing. "Am I?"  
>"Nice," I muttered to Kenya.<br>"Thanks," she said sarcastically back, making a face at me.

"Ohhh," Silver wiped a tear from his eye. "So you two an item now?"  
>"An item! An item!" Morph chirruped.<p>

"A—a _what_?" Kenya practically shouted.

Silver chuckled, collected the bowls of ice cold pudding and replaced them with hot bowls. I dug in, looking at Kenya's red face, and in the metal bowl I could see my own tomato red face reflected.

I spooned down the bowlful as fast as I could and stood. "I'm done. Chores?"  
>Silver grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hmm. I have a better idea for you two. You both 'ave earned yourselves a rest. A day of fun. Hows 'bout it?"<br>I grinned wildly and looked at Kenya, who looked excited about the prospect of a relaxing, fun, work-free day. She dumped the remains of her pudding in the sink and walked up to Silver. "You actually _do_ have a heart," she said, and grinned, letting him know she was teasing.

Silver wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. "Folla' me, pups."

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

As Jim went ahead, I reached out and grabbed ahold of Silver's arms.  
>"What's wrong, lass?" he turned to look at me, straightening his black hat.<p>

I checked to make sure Jim had already headed off without Silver, then smiled at him slowly. "Um, so last night, Jim and me were looking at the Star Canal."  
>"I KNEW IT!" bellowed Silver. "Well, I knew you two were up doing heaven-knows-what together."<br>I blushed like crazy. "Yeah. It was wonderful, Silver. Really wonderful."  
>Silver's good eye was getting moist. "I'm glad you're learning to open up and trust. How did it feel when you got so close to Jimbo?"<br>"It was beautiful," I said, my voice threatening to spill out my miles and miles of emotion. "It was just him, me, and the endless sky. And I wanted it to stay that way forever."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah. So that was CRAZY short. But if you guys leave reviews, I'll update fast-cuz the next chapter is the Supernova chapter. :) lots of action there. <strong>

**xx, Crystal **


	8. Supernova

**This is all one POV, I just realized that when editing, lol. Idek. Anyway, thanks to HeartofGold7, Dancer who loves Westerns, and Afrikat for reviewing. If I missed anyone who reviewed, I'll thank you in the next chapter, I promise. **

**Happy late Thanksgiving, you guys! Hope you had a good time! **

**3+ reviews and I update. **

**xx, Crystal **

* * *

><p><strong>Jim<strong>

We went down to the Hold, where the longboats were kept.

Silver and Kenya took their own sweet time coming down there, but I didn't know why. I waited for them, excitement bubbling in my veins.

Kenya's eyes widened as we got closer.

"We get to ride these?" I cried, getting closer to the longboats. "Awesome!"  
>"Yeah. You pups okay with that?" Silver's eyes flitted from me to Kenya.<p>

I nodded wordlessly. _This was gonna be awesome_.

Kenya looked a bit freaked out.

"What's 'a matter, Kenni?" Silver began to untie a longboat. "Jimbo, help me out, lad."  
>I jumped across eagerly to untie the other side.<p>

"Kenni," Silver pressed, throwing the rope across to me.

I caught it and jumped back over to help Silver lower the boat.

"Yeah," Kenya said hollowly. "Silver, remember the last time you took me out riding in one of these things?"  
>Silver slowed down the lowering. "Yes...lass, d'ya want to stay behind?"<br>I looked up at Kenya. "No, come with us!"  
>Kenya giggled nervously and twisted a strand of hair. "Last time, he nearly got us killed."<br>"The boat flipped over _once_!" Silver protested.

Kenya laughed. "That's like saying, 'I only shot him once.'"

Silver rubbed his neck. "I'll go easy."  
>"No, you won't." I cut in. "<em>I'm<em> driving."  
>"You?" Silver looked incredulously at me. "Lad, you haven't the faintest idea how to drive a longboat!"<br>"Silver, neither do you!" said Kenya with a smirk. "Let him drive, okay?"  
>Silver grumbled about it, but we all hopped into the longboat and he lowered it down slowly.<p>

I was so excited, I was tingling all over.

"Alrigh'," Silver began to instruct me. "Listen close. This here's the throttle. It's basically used ta accelerate the whole thing. This is where you figure out the rest of the settings. Now, lad, take it nice and sl—" Silver was cut off as I hit the gas.

Kenya screamed next to me, shutting her eyes tightly as her hair streamed back. Without even noticing, she threw her arms around me, still screaming.

"Sl-slow _down_!" Silver yelled.

I wouldn't. I lived for thrills, for danger, for adventure. I went even faster, flipping over and twisting so fast no one would have the chance to fall out.

Silver and Kenya looked nauseous when I came out of the twist, and Kenya was screaming that she hated me and would never forgive me and that I was an idiot and would get them all killed, but I kept going, straight into a stream of blue light, not doing stunts but keeping it fast and even.

Silver gripped his hat on his head, but looked excited now, holding the side of the boat and nodding when I drifted easily into the Lightstream.

Kenya had quieted, but she didn't release her grip on me.  
>We shot straight out through the Lightstream, and I let out a whoop as I turned the longboat back towards the Legacy in the distance.<p>

"Brilliant, lad!" Silver clapped me on the back, and I felt a dash of joy at being treated...almost like a son.

I grinned. "Thanks."

"Kenni?" Silver glanced over at her, a laugh on his lips.

I turned to her too.

"Idiot," she told me, and then smiled.

"Ha!" Silver chuckled, and then we pulled up underneath the Legacy, and Silver and I began hauling the longboat back up into the Hold.

When we got to the top, Kenya hopped out of the longboat and waved at us. "I'm gonna go drink something, okay? You two have some time alone." She winked and ran off.

I shook my head, smiling, and stared after her.  
>"It's obvious what's goin' on, lad," Silver laughed.<p>

I sighed.

Gratefully, Silver changed the subject. "Oh, Jimbo, if I could maneuver a skiff like 'at when I was yer age, they'd be bowin' in the streets when I walked by today." He grunted as he pulled up the rope and grinned at me, dropping to a seat and grunting.

I pulled on the other rope, turning to him. "I don't know. They weren't exactly singing my praises when I left home."  
>Silver wiped down his face with a piece of cloth and chuckled.<p>

I leaned forward. "But I'm gonna change all that."  
>Silver looked at me, interested. "Are ya now? How so?"<br>Cockily, I stretched and leaned back against the seat, putting my arms behind my head. "I got some plans. To make people see me a little different."  
>"Ohh," I heard Silver say in a low voice, almost negatively, and I heard his metal creak. "Sometimes, plans go astray," he said quietly.<p>

I shifted my shoulders. "Mm, not this time."  
>"Hmm," Silver said, and I heard his metal creak again. This time I looked up and saw him struggling with a bolt on the side of what used to be his leg. I leaned forward a little bit to watch.<p>

Morph squeaked and turned into a wrench.  
>Silver grinned. "Ah, thank ya, Morphy." He turned the bolt so it was a bit more loose and leaned back, more relaxed.<p>

I shifted towards Silver. "So, uh, how'd that happen, anyway?"  
>Silver looked up at me with the most morose expression on his face. He flexed his metal fingers slowly. "You give up a few t'ings," he said softly. "Chasin' a dream..." he trailed off.<p>

I looked up at him. "Was it worth it?"  
>Silver chuckled and moved over next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders in a fatherly way. "I'm hoping it t'was, Jimbo. I most surely am."<br>Just as we both leaned back, the longboat pitched forward, nearly slamming against the wall.

"What was that?" I jumped out of the seat, hopping onto the side of the board, heading for the stairs up out of the Hold.  
>"Go, lad!" Silver hauled himself out of the longboat, tailed by a very frightened Morph. "Go see what's happening!"<br>Instead, I charged to the galley to see if Kenya was okay, going against orders.

She was lying on top of a couple overturned purp barrels, a look of shock written on her face.

"You okay?" I called, running down.

"What's happening?" Kenya cried, steadying herself against the walls as she fought to stand.

"Jimbo!" hollered Silver. "Come up 'ere and help me out! Kenya, tie down all the cabinets and put any breakable items into cupboards! Move your lazy bums!"  
>I looked back at Kenya.<p>

"I'll be fine," she insisted, grabbing a coil of  
>wire out of a box and heading for the cabinets. The ship lurched again, and I stumbled against a wall, and I saw Kenya clinging to the stove. Without any further ado, I followed Silver up the stairs of the galley onto the front deck.<p>

"What the devil—" he breathed.

"Good heavens!" I heard Doc cry from the Captain's ledge. "The star Permusa! It's gone..._supernova_!"

I wasn't exactly sure what that was, but I knew it was bad because it seemed a star was exploding right in our path, waves of light coming at top speed towards our ship, the skies darkening in turmoil.

The Captain ran up towards her ledge. "Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" she screamed above the roar of the star.

"Aye, Cap'n!" Turnbuckle spun the wheel hard.

There was a whirr of activity as Mr. Arrow yelled, "All hands fasten your lifelines!" Sailors ran around tying ropes around their waist and securing them to hooks on the mast. I secured my own lifeline and waited for orders from the Captain.

"Mr. Arrow!" hollered the Captain. "Secure those sails!"  
>"Secure those sails!" Mr. Arrow yelled at the crew. "Tie them down, men!"<br>Silver and I crept across the top of the ship, trying to help tie the sails down. It was extremely hard as the air was burning hot and chunks of fiery objects were flying at us and the sky was so bright you could barely see.

But I grabbed a rope and tied down a sail.

Suddenly, as a piece of fiery brimstone hit the side of where Silver was standing, he lost his balance and toppled off the ledge we were standing on.

My heart pounded in my ears. "_Silver_!" I grabbed his lifeline and hauled him back up, using every muscle in my body to help this man I considered like a father to me.

Silver pulled himself back up slowly to the ledge. "Thanks, lad!" he breathed, placing his hand on my shoulder gratefully.

We both gasped then, as the giant star sent more flashes of light and burning brimstone our way.

Sailors desperately fled to take cover as the star grew closer and closer, threatening to destroy us all.

"Captain!" shrieked Onus in his high unnaturally pitched voice. "The star!"  
>Doc gasped. "It's devolving into a...<em>black hole<em>!"  
>"We're being pulled in!" yelled Turnbuckle, falling down with the force of the explosion.<p>

"Ah, no you don't!" The Captain wouldn't give in. She rushed forward to take Turnbuckle's place, wrestling with the wheel.

Another wave hit us, causing the ship to nearly flip over.

Captain struggled with the wheel. "Blast these waves, they're so deucedly erratic!"

"No, Captain," Delbert cried, tapping a meter on the dashboard. "They're not erratic at all! There'll be one more in precisely about 42.7 seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"  
>The Captain blinked in surprise. "Of course! Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"<br>I ran down to the front deck, where Kenya was tying her lifeline.

"You okay? Everything in the galley okay?" I asked her.

"Everything's fine," Kenya promised. Then she swore. "Crap...all those lessons with you and Silver and I still can't tie a knot..."  
>"Let me help," I told her, tying the tightest knot I could.<p>

I couldn't lose her.

"Thanks," Kenya breathed.

"Mr. Hawkins!" I heard Captain cry. I whirled around to her.

"Make sure all lifelines are secured good and tight!" she called to me.

I pulled on all of them, testing them, and making sure the knots were secure. "Lifelines secure, Captain!"  
>"Good man!" she nodded at me.<p>

"Captain! The last wave!" Doc shrieked.

Captain grabbed the wave. "Hold onto your lifelines, gents! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"  
>Silver grabbed both me and Kenya and pushed us against the mast tightly, shielding both of us with his body. Kenya shut her eyes tight and grabbed my hand, squeezing so hard that I thought I would lose the blood flow in my hand. Her knuckles had gone white from squeezing, and I couldn't even say a word to console her because the wind was going too hard.<p>

We sank lower and lower into the black hole with no oxygen and no light, deeper and darker and deeper and darker until the world was entirely black—

Then a sudden wave shoved us out of the black hole and straight into the Etherium, with the ship going so fast everyone was vaulted to the other side of the Legacy, crashing into the rails.

But we were free, with light coursing around us, safe from the explosive star, ready to continue back on our journey.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

And even though we were out of danger, Kenya didn't release my hand.

And I didn't release hers.

* * *

><p><strong>Awwweee. <strong>

**Quote of the Day: Love is a journey. **

**I'm gonna try and do a Quote of the Day :) My friend Jami's idea-TYSSSSM BOO! ILY! :)**

**Byeeeeeee!**

**3+ reviews and I update. **

**xx, Crystal **


	9. The Makings of Greatness In You

**This is just one of the sweetest scenes in the whole TP movie. And I just luuurve it. For sure, I didn't capture all the emotion in the movie, sadly :( Even though I rewrote it at a lot. **

**But I still hope it's fairly okay. :P**

** Leave me feedback, so I can get better as a writer!**

**Check out Sultal's fanfiction as well, Taking Fantasia. It's AMAZING. She's a fabulous author!**

**Okay, 3+ reviews and I update. **

**xx, Crystal **

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

The crew's voice echoed throughout the Etherium.  
>Cheering, laughing, happiness and relief.<p>

I sighed and realized I was still squeezing Jim's hand. Silver loosened up his hold on us, and awkwardly I stood, pulling my hand out of Jim's quickly.

Jim smiled at me.

I let out a long breath and smiled back. "That was scary." I tugged on the knot that held my lifeline in place. Like the pathetic person I am, I couldn't undo the knot either. I gestured helplessly to Jim.

He laughed and helped me undo the hard knot he had made. I giggled when he had trouble releasing it. "Thanks."  
>"No problem." He smiled again.<p>

But when the lifeline was off of me, we gathered by the Captain's Ledge as she walked down the stairs with a smile of pride on her face.

Captain turned to Silver. "Well, I must, ah, congratulate you, Mr. Silver. It seems your cabin boy did a bang-up job with those lifelines."  
>Silver glanced at Jim and elbowed him.<p>

Jim grinned and nudged Silver back, the two of them chuckling.

I smiled at their happiness. I'm glad Silver was getting fond of Jim.

Captain Amelia turned to the crew. "All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?"  
>No one moved.<br>Mr. Arrow didn't come forward.

I turned and craned my neck, looking around for him.

_How hard was it to lose a giant man like Mr. Arrow?  
><em>"Mr. Arrow?" Captain Amelia repeated.

No one moved forward.

Finally, I heard a hissing noise and turned. The crew was parting as Scroop came forward, carrying something.

I looked at it carefully and gasped.

_It was Mr. Arrow's hat. _

"I'm afraid..." Scroop said tragically. "Mr. Arrow has been lost." He hesitated and then spoke:

"_His lifeline was not secured_." Scroop looked pointedly at Jim, which made all the crew members turn and look to him, whispering and mumbling animatedly to one another.

Silver and I looked at Jim too in surprise.

Jim looked at me, his eyes widening, then back to Captain Amelia. "No!" he breathed.

Captain Amelia looked accusingly at him, hurt and disbelief written in her green eyes.

"No, I checked them all!" Jim protested, shoving through the crowd to the mast where the lifelines were hooked. I pushed past a burly sailor to see if the lifeline was still on the hook.

It wasn't.

Jim whirled around, shock plastered all over his face. He shook his head in disbelief. "I—I _did_! I checked them all—they were secure! I _swear_."  
>Amelia glared.<p>

I looked at Scroop. There was something..._wrong_ about all this—

He was _smiling_.

SMILING! When someone had just died he actually had the nerves to smile.

I looked at Silver. He was just..._looking_ at Scroop, and it was as if the two of them were trying to communicate.

There was defenitely something wrong here.

I turned my attention back to Captain Amelia and Jim.

Captain Amelia was staring at Mr. Arrow's hat. "Mr. Arrow was a—" She closed her eyes and cleared her throat quickly. "Fine spacer. Finer than most of us should ever hope to be." She took a deep breath. "But he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts. We carry on." She started back up the stairs to her Ledge, and I knew she was trying to put on a brave face.

Underneath she was crumbling.

I looked over at Jim. He was staring at her retreating form. He looked at me.

I opened my mouth to say something to him.

I saw an expression of hurt flicker across his eyes and then he ran from the front deck down the steps into the galley.

I started after him, but I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Silver, still staring after Jim, was warning me not to go.

It took all my self-restraint to stay there on the deck and not run after Jim.

* * *

><p>Jim was in the sleeping quarters, and didn't come out.<p>

Silver was chopping kestrels in the galley and I walked down the stairs sulkily to the sit on the bench.

"I'm making Sweetness," Silver told me, his back to me.  
>I twisted a strand of hair. "Really."<br>Silver grunted. "Yeah. Thought maybe you'd like it and...maybe it'd make Jimbo feel a bit better."

"Yeah," I said finally.

"Couldja do me a favor, lass, and keep stirrin' the Sweetness so it don't overboil?"  
>I stood obediently, grabbed a spoon and stirred the yummy mass in the pan.<p>

"Thank you." Silver kept chopping kestrels, whistling to himself.  
>I sighed and stabbed the spoon into a lumpy piece of Sweetness.<p>

"Somethin' buggin' ya?" Silver looked up at me.

I looked up at Silver. "Actually, Silver, _yes_. Something _is_ bugging me."  
>"Oh?" Silver turned around, chopping off another piece of the small long thin vegetable.<p>

"Today. During the supernova," I said finally.

"What 'bout it?"  
>I was silent, chewing the inside of my cheek.<p>

"Kenni?" Silver turned around fully, twisting a new kestrel to chop.

I looked up at him. "Jim didn't kill Mr. Arrow today."  
>Silver blinked several times. "...pardon me?"<br>"Silver," I looked up at sadly at him. "What happened?"  
>Silver laughed. "Kenya, I'm sorry, lass, I don't understand what yer—"<p>

"There's something wrong here." I glared. "I wanted to know what it is."

Silver blinked rapidly. "What...what's goin' on?"  
>"Scroop was smiling when Mr. Arrow died today," I said, smacking the table. "And you <em>saw<em> it! You saw it, damn it!"  
>"You watch yer mouth!" Silver whirled around and held up his index finger.<p>

"I'll say whatever I—" I stopped and sat down. "Okay. Fine. Forget it—forget it." I sat down and poked at the Sweetness again, tasting some.

" 'Ey. Kenni." Silver sat down next to me.

"No, just forget it. It's probably nothing, okay?"

"I'd like to hear it."

I looked up at Silver. "Did he do it?"  
>Silver looked pretty fed up with me at that point. "Did <em>who<em> do _what_, Kenni?"

"Did Scroop kill Mr. Arrow?" I knew it was a pretty big guess I was making, but I was desperately hoping Silver would respond honestly.

Silver took a deep breath, grunted, and leaned back. "Oh, Kenya."

"_Did he_?"  
>Silver sighed, and then looked away.<br>I gasped. "Scroop?! Scroop—"

Silver gripped my arm. "Lass. You have ta _promise_ me you will not tell Jimbo."  
>"No!" I jerked my arm out of his grip. "He's <em>hurt<em> inside, Silver. You have to tell him."  
>"No," Silver said finally. "I can't."<br>"I thought you _cared about_ him!" I cried.

"I do, lass!" Silver shook his head. "You have no thought of how much I admire and love Jimbo. He's really great, that lad. But for certain reasons, I cannot tell him."  
>I swallowed. "Certain reasons?"<br>Silver nodded. "I'll talk to the lad. I'll make 'im feel better. That enough?"  
>"Don't do it for me," I told Silver, turning to the Sweetness.<p>

"I'm not doing it for you," Silver told me, standing up and heading up the stairs into the galley. "I'm gonna go see about the lad. Don't worry, Kenni. I'll take care of everythin'."

* * *

><p><strong>Jim<strong>

I sat in the shrouds, staring off into the Etherium.

It was nearly impossible to get my mind off the guilt and hurt crowding in my mind. I remembered seeing Kenya's horrified face as she saw Mr. Arrow's hat being handed to Captain Amelia, Scroop's smirking, Silver's shock, Captain Amelia's anger, Doc's pity, the crew's hushed whispers.

I closed my eyes.

_One thing_. I had tried to do just _one thing_ and I screwed it up.

I heard clanky footsteps down below and knew it was Silver, and I shut him out, toying with a piece of rope.

"It weren't your fault, ya know," he said, examining his pipe.

I exhaled sharply.

"Why, half da crew would be spinnin' in that black abyss if you—"

I jumped down off the shrouds, anger and fear overtaking my senses of rationality. I challenged Silver, standing in front of him.

"Look, don't you get it?! I screwed up! I mean, like, for two seconds I thought that maybe I could do something right! But—agh!" I raked my hands through my hair and turned around, stalking towards the mast. "Forget it. Just—forget it."  
>I heard Silver coming closer but I didn't turn around.<p>

He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around hard so I faced him. I blinked and looked up at him, tears prickling behind my eyes. I was _scared_ of myself at that moment, how one measly little task of tying knots couldn't work when I did it.

_Why_?  
>Silver bent down and looked at me. "Now you listen to me, <em>James Hawkins<em>. You got the makings of greatness in you. But ya gotta take the helm and chart yer own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls! And when the time comes to really test the cut of yer sails, and show 'em what yer made of, well," he turned sideways and held out his hands as if waiting for the stars to shower him with light. "...I hope I'm there, catchin' some o' the light comin' off ya that day."

He turned to me and smiled reassuringly.

I stared at him. No one had _ever_ spoken to me that way before.

I remembered when mom used to take me to the park in Montressor, and I used to see other little kids with their dads, their fathers looking down at them with the expression that said: "I love you."  
>I never had a father to look at me like that, but right now, even though I still didn't have a father, Silver was looking at me with that expression I had always coveted.<p>

I lost it completely inside, crumbling as the past rained down heavily on my heart.

My shoulders shaking, I sniffled and rested my forehead against Silver's giant round stomach.

Silver took a hesitant tiny step back, but then I felt his arms going around me and him hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe.

He chuckled softly. "It's alrigh', Jimbo." He squeezed me tightly, meaningfully. "It's alrigh'."

I felt myself crying, but I didn't know why. It was all the emotion flooding inside of me. I covered my face with my hands to try and stop the tears and the joy and the sadness and the bittersweet longing all running inside of me.

"Uh, Jimbo," Silver pushed me backwards gently, clearing his throat awkwardly. I stepped back, staring at the ground to keep anyone from seeing my tears.

"I best be gettin' 'bout me watch," Silver told me. "And you best be gettin' some shut-eye." He turned me around and pushed me towards the galley stairs. "Go on."  
>I shuffled towards the stairs, wiping an arm across my face. At the entrance of the galley, on the top stair, I turned around and looked at Silver.<p>

And I smiled.

And he smiled back, raising his hand in a signal of goodnight.

**I'll make it up for the long wait and update quickly, especially as Xmas is here.  
>Midnight fans, stay tuned for an in progress Midnight Xmas mini fic, with me and Kieran! :)<strong>

**xx, Crystal **

**3+ reviews, lovelies! **


	10. A Mutiny?

**Hello my lovelies!  
>Please don't kill me...I'm sorry I Haven't been on in literally forever. <strong>

**I was up to my elbows in school and other crap that makes life a pain in the ass. **

**Anyway, I'm back and fabulous! :D jk. **

**Soo, here's the update, and thanks to everyone for reviewing and staying true to this story. I love all of you so much. ****3+ reviews and I update! Rule still up!**

**Enjoy this chapter!  
>Btw, this is where the action begins. <strong>

**xx, Crystal**

* * *

><p><strong>Kenya<strong>

I was in the kitchen, adding more mellowdew to the Sweetness. It wasn't sweet enough for me. I hoped Silver wouldn't mind me adding a little something to his concoction.

"Hey," I heard a voice at the door.

I turned around, and saw Jim standing there, looking tired.

"Hey!" I moved out from behind Silver's stove. "Are you okay?"

Jim nodded. He moved over to the bench and sat down on it.

"Taste this." I smiled and gave him a pinch of Sweetness out of the pan. "It's hot so be careful. Silver made it. He said he thought it might cheer you up."

Jim put it in his mouth and he grinned slightly. "It's good."

I nodded excitedly.

"What is it?"

"It's called Sweetness."

"Tell Silver it's amazing."

"Tell him yourself, later." I sat down next to Jim. "So. Do you want to talk?"

Jim shrugged and leaned back against the bench. "Silver just talked to me."

"What did he say?"

From the brightness of Jim's smile I could tell that whatever speech Silver had told him had really touched Jim's heartstrings, and I was glad. "Something really nice?"

Jim nodded. "It was really nice."

I nodded too, and then rubbed his arm. I was afraid I was going to spill right now all about how Scroop killed Mr. Arrow and how Jim wasn't to blame at all, but then I knew I'd be betraying Silver, in a way. So I pressed my lips together and settled for smiling.

Jim looked at me, his penetrating dark blue gaze settling on my eyes.

I dropped my gaze, a blush heating my cheeks, and looked self-consciously down at my clothing. I had changed out of today's regular tank top and shorts and was now wearing a plain white dress that ended a few inches above my knee, with thin straps and a low cut back. It was what I planned to sleep in, and was comfortable, so I had changed out of my sweaty clothing and into this right after the supernova. I felt a tad bit underdressed now, especially under Jim's gaze.

Jim looked down at his lap and then across the galley at the walls.

Silence echoed through the galley.

Suddenly, Jim spoke.

"Hey, you have another tattoo."

Now I felt even more self conscious. Because the tattoo was located on my back, right below my left shoulder blade.

I blushed. "Yeah."

"Wow." Jim leaned forward to inspect it closely. "It's a moon. With three stars."

"Um, the moon is the Spaceport, actually," I told Jim. "And the three stars are just there."

"Cool." He reached forward and then drew back. "Can I touch it?"

I nodded. "Sure." Right that moment, I was blushing so bad I was sure the heat from my cheeks could probably light a fire.

I felt Jim's warm soft fingertips skim the tattoo below my shoulder. I felt his fingers trace the outline of the small crescent moon, and then touch each of the stars.

I sucked in air. I looked over at his face, saw his blue eyes flecked with gray, those soulful haunting eyes, the glint of that gold earring and the softness of his brown hair, and in that moment on impulse, I leaned forward towards his face.

_This is so stupid, Kenya_! I realized, and desperately tried to pull my face back, humiliated.

But before I could, I felt his warm hands beneath my jawline, holding my face close to his.

I parted my lips slightly to say "sorry," but then his lips were on mine, and in that moment I forgot every single thing.

Like, someone could have walked into the room and asked me what my name was, and I wouldn't have remembered.

I felt our lips touching, and I felt myself burning for more.

I leaned forward, pressing into the kiss, and then my mind flashed back to my parents leaving.

"_You'll be okay, dear. We'll be back soon. We love you."_

"_Mommy, don't go!"_

"_Lucia, we should go before she starts to throw a tantrum." My father. _

"_Jakke, how can we leave her here? She's too young." _

"_Lucia, come on! We have to leave!"_

"_She's our only child, Jakke—"_

"_Don't get soft now. Someone will find her and take care of her."_

"_MOMMY!" Me, wailing. _

"_How do you know that, Jakke?" Mom's voice, raising in pitch and volume. "Someone might not really care for a little orphan girl abandoned at the might kill her! Or...take advantage of her."_

_My father sighed. "We can't think about those things. We must go. Now." _

"_Goodbye, sweetie," Mom had said, tears in her eyes, and then they had both gone. _

_Left me to the cruel mercy of the world. _

I pulled away as fast as I could, tumbling back against the wall.

I couldn't trust anyone. Not one person. Betrayal was my biggest fear.

"Kenya?" Jim looked concerned, his eyes shining in the dim lighting of the galley.

I whimpered, but didn't say any audible words.

"Oh—" Jim looked down, rubbing his eyes. "That was stupid of me. Sorry."

I shook my head, trying to get the words out. "I leaned in. It was my fault. I forgot...everything for a second because you were there, right in front of me."

Why did I always have to sound so stupid and corny in front of Jim?

Jim swallowed. "Okay. Yeah."

"Yeah." I smiled softly at him. "It's okay. We can just pretend it didn't happen, right?" Please say yes. _Please just say yes. Please._

Jim shrugged. "Yeah."

I breathed out. "Okay. Great. Thanks."

"Yeah." Jim stood and stretched. "I'm tired—I better go to bed."

"Okay." I stood up too. "Goodnight, Jim."

He pecked me on the cheek and walked up the stairs.

And I wasted the next five minutes of my life just standing in the galley with a hand to my cheek, with the blissful memory of our kiss playing in my mind on endless replay.

**Jim**

I woke up the next morning awakened by what was possibly the rudest bunkmate in the entire Etherium.

I fell out of my hammock, sleep still in my eyes, and I rose to a sitting position, trying to get my eyes to open.

_I had to work. _

I pushed myself to grab my socks and boots and put them on.

Just then, Morph snatched my other boot and flew off with it, chattering happily, thinking I was playing some game.

"Morph," I moaned, attempting to rub some sleep out of my eyes. "Morph, knock it off." I stood up but stumbled back to my knees while trying to tuck in my shirt which was hanging wrinkled past my belt.

I fell to the ground in front of a pile of boxes where I guessed Morph had hidden my other boot.

"Morph, knock it off. It's too early for this."

Suddenly, my boot came up behind me and kicked me right in the rear end.

I fell forward, into the pile of boxes, and then whirled around, outraged. "Hey! Morph!"

The little guy burst out into his squeaky laughter, and still carrying my stolen boot flew up the galley stairs and onto the front deck.

"Hey, _come back here_!" I chased him up the galley stairs and onto the front deck. I managed to catch the boot in a last resort attempt by jumping off the stairs straight over the floor grate and narrowly snatching the boot.

I sighed.

Morph turned into a blowfish and sprayed me in the face with water.

I wiped the water away with one hand and tried to snatch the little floating blob with my other hand.

He morphed into tiny versions of my face.

"You little squid!" I tried to catch him, but he had already dove beneath me into the grate.

I ran to the galley stairs and stumbled down, seeing Kenya already down there mixing something in a pan.

"Hey." I grinned at her. "Morning."

"Morning." Kenya handed me a pinch of something. "Last night's Sweetness cooked beautifully. Taste?"

"Yeah!" I put the pinch in my mouth and swallowed. "Yum."

Kenya smiled and giggled. "Looking for Morph?"

I sighed and gestured to my feet. "Stole my boot, and I got it back. But where is he?"

"Keep looking."

I strolled through the galley, my eyes settling on the purp barrel. I crawled over to the edge and peeked in.

A purp opened an eye cautiously and looked at me.

_Morph._

"Busted!" I laughed and dove into the barrel, grabbing the little pink blob between my fingers and holding him there, tickling him as he chirped happily.

Suddenly I heard Kenya gasp outside the barrel and looked up. She was scrambling back behind a table. She pressed against the wall and pulled her knees to her chest.

I looked up and saw Scroop and a few other sailors coming downstairs with murder in their eyes.

I sank down deep into the barrel with Morph in my hands, muffling him so he couldn't make any noise.

"We are sick of all this waiting!" It was Birdbrain Mary.

"Ve are vanting to move!" I heard a fat sailor cry.

"We don't move till we got the treasure in hand!" I saw the metal hand and froze, because I knew it was Silver.

Another voice, oily thin and raspy. "I ssssssay we kill them all now."

Silver spoke again, this time his voice echoing raw outrage. "I say what's to say! Disobey my orders again like that stunt ya pulled wit' Mr. Arrow, and so help me , you'll be joinin' 'im!" He grabbed Scroop around the neck and flung him in my direction, right into the purp barrel. The barrel swayed back and forth precariously several times, threatening to flip over, but luckily it didn't.

Scroop slowly lifted himself off the floor. "Ssssstrong talk, but I know otherwissse." Scroop reached his red pincers into the barrel, and I saw my life pass before my eyes.

He was scrabbling around for a purp.

Panic in my eyes, I grabbed a purp from near me and held it up to his pincers. Luckily, he grabbed it and pulled his giant claw out of my hiding place.

"It'ssss those kidssss," I heard Scroop say in a soft, dangerous voice.

No one moved—total silence echoed through the galley.

"Me thinksss you've have a—" I heard the sound of the purp being pierced. "sssoft ssspot for them."

I heard the crew murmuring and mumbling words that I couldn't really decipher, but my heart was pounding so loud I couldn't believe I hadn't been found out yet.

When Silver spoke next, it sounded like murder laced with poisonous revenge was dripping off his tongue. "Now mark me, _the lot of ya_! I care about one t'ing and one t'ing _only_! Flint's Trove. You t'ink I'd risk it all for the sake of a nose wiping little whelp and an orphan girl?"

Shock nearly paralyzed my body.

_A nose wiping little whelp?_

_I thought he meant those things he said last night._

_It was almost like...he was my...father._

Tears threatened to fall down my cheeks, so I ground my teeth together and pressed my forehead to my knees to try and get a grip on reality.

"What was it now?" I heard Scroop chuckle darkly. "You've got the makingssss of greatnesss in ya."

"SHUT YER YAP!" I heard Silver yell. "Ah, I cozied up to that kid to keep 'im off our scent. But I ain't gone soft."

"What about the girl?" demanded Scroop. "You don't call ssssix yearsss worth of love and affection 'cozying up', do you, Ssssilver?"

I remembered how Kenya had told me she had been with Silver six years, since she was nine. That can't have been a lie. Silver really, truly loved Kenya. All of that could not be a scheme.

"The girl is just like a helper for me!" I heard Silver say. "I felt pity for the little t'ing when I first saw 'er at the Spaceport. But I'm tellin' ya—_all of ya_—that I ain't feelin' no feelings. Not when we're so close to the_ treasure_!" Silver looked around at the crew, who seemed to be tilting towards his side again. It seemed his speech had been convincing enough.

Scroop scowled.

"Land ho!" screamed Onus from the front deck.

The excited crew members, including Silver and Scroop, raced up the galley stairs to go sight the planet we had been sailing towards for weeks.

I was in no mood to see Treasure Planet right now, realizing there was a mutiny onboard.

Sadness piled up in my gut as I hauled myself out of the barrel and started towards the exit.

Then I remembered Kenya and turned around.

She was standing behind the table, her face dismayed.

Her lower lip quivered for a second and I stepped towards her, but she bit her lip and pulled herself up from a hunched position back to herself.

I wanted to open my mouth, to speak, to be strong for the both of us, but I wasn't ready to talk yet. Instead I stumbled forward against a table, my fingers hitting Silver's spyglass.

Kenya was right behind me when I glanced back.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, touching my shoulder.

I closed my eyes. "I don't know." I looked at her. "Are you?"

She shook her head honestly. "No." She paused, and then looked at me. "We're going to Treasure Planet?"

"Yeah," I said faintly.

"I thought that was just a myth."

"It's no myth." I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to sort my thoughts into order. "It's real. And the map I found led straight here."

I nodded. I couldn't even think straight.

Suddenly, fear shot through my mind. "We have to leave the Legacy. Otherwise, they'll know!"

"Know?" I heard the panic lacing Kenya's words, and I grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward, halfway up the stairs, nearly safe, when suddenly Silver appeared at the top.

He blinked several times rapidly in surprise.

I heard Kenya inhale sharply behind me and I began to slowly back up down the stairs.

She grabbed a fistful of my shirt, and I felt her hands shaking against my back.

"Jimbo." Silver walked slowly down the stairs. Purposefully. Placing his huge hands against the walls so we couldn't get past. "Kenni." Silver smiled what was a friendly smile. Underneath I sensed the poson, the anger, the shock because he knew we had heard the entire mutiny thing.

"Playin' games?" Silver cocked his head, and put his arms behind his back in a friendly way.

I narrowed my eyes, still backing up. I felt Kenya squeeze my arm, and saw that we had backed up against Silver's table.

I put my arms out on either side of her and grabbed the table's edges, determined to at least protect Kenya, if not myself.

"Yeah." I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, we're playing games."

"Oh, I see." Silver nodded slowly. "Well, I was...never much good at games." I heard the cocking of a pistol. "Always hated to lose."

And in that moment, fear raced through my veins so much I could feel my teeth chattering together. I set my jawline and pressed my toes into the floor, hoping an idea would randomly dance into my brain.

I felt something sharp touch my hand, and I knew Kenya was pushing something at me.

I scrabbled and wrapped my fingers around it.

"Hm," I said. "Me too!" I dove forward towards the ground and stabbed whatever that sharp thing was into Silver's leg pump.

It lost all its air and Silver went falling to the ground.

"Silver!" Kenya's hand flew to her mouth.

_No_. I couldn't let her pity overtake her rational senses. I grabbed Kenya's hand and pulled her up the stairs before Silver hauled himself after us.

"Where are we going?" she wailed, hair flying in a ponytail.

"The Captain's room," I said, making a split second decision.

We raced in that direction, content to be getting farther away from the pirates.

* * *

><p><strong>Aww, I love their relationship. So sweet. <strong>

**Anyway, more updates hurled your way this week! If school isn't a b**** to me. :/ ****Love you guys!  
>3+ reviews!<br>Mwah!  
>xx, Crystal <strong>


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